PAGES : Haven’t Met Any Terrorists Either?

In 1986, Newsweek reported that researchers had concluded a 40-year-old unmarried woman had a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than finding a husband.

While the results of the Bennet, Bloom and Craig study were later disputed, the initial shock of the statistics disheartened thousands of wanna-be marrieds.

“At first I was depressed,” writer Laurie Levin says. “After I recovered from being depressed, I got angry. . . . I thought there have got to be people who beat the odds and I’m gonna find them.

“I wanted to debunk the myth that if you haven’t been married by midlife you never will be,” says Levin, who is 43 and single.

She and co-author Laura Golden Belloti (who remarried in her late 30s) set out to find real people who’d found marital bliss after 40. The result of their search is “You Can’t Hurry Love: An Intimate Look at First Marriages After 40” (Dutton).

For those of you over 40 who’ve never married, the two Los Angeles writers have this message: It’s never too late.

For those still seeking passage on the sea of matrimony, their book offers some advice:

* Take risks--keep on dating.

* Live your own life to the fullest--regardless.

* There is nothing wrong with you if you are single.

* Resist believing that age is a liability.

* Clarify your priorities and intentions.

And, Levin stresses, if you’re still looking for Mr. or Ms. Right-for-You, “It’s OK to take as long as you like.”