This book was lent to me by a friend at work. We had got talking one day and I was telling her about my love of reading, as well as my frustrations with my husband (unrelated of course), and she said she had a great book for me to read. I never read a book on the topic of "marriage" before, so this was new territory for me. This is a memoir of the authors relationship, Annabelle and Jeff, who have been married for 13 years. On a personal note, I've been married almost 12 years, so I was very curious how this couple was doing at about the same point in their marriage.
I was expecting a bit of of "self-help" book feel, but it read more like novel -- a really funny one. It was touching and honest and made me realize that a lot of our day to day challenges in our household and my own relationship are probably the same as many people. The book was set up so each chapter had a theme and followed a timeline: dating, moving in, pets, the wedding, in-laws, pregnancy, child rearing, etc; with each chapter having a "he said" and "she said" view. I didn't really relate to the book until the pregnancy part and everything that followed from that. The weird "mommy groups" (been there, done that), late night feedings and sleep deprivation (still living it!), and using your spouse as an emotional punching bag because no one else but him would take such crap (we're both working on that!) were all things I could relate to. If Annabelle and Jeff can make it, maybe there's hope for Glen and I yet!
I read that this book has been turned into a theatre production and I suspect that since Annabelle and Jeff are both working in Hollywood, it might hit the TV or movie screen one day. This book isn't a 10/10 (maybe a 7 or 8), but it was an enjoyable and amusing read. I wouldn't hestiate to recommend this, especially as it would reasonate with most of my friends -- couples with young children.
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