Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, by Elizabeth Gilbert.
It was really good, though boring in parts. It actually made me slightly worried about getting married, it looks like marriage doesn't necessarily always work out that well for women. She covered all the bases, from finances to motherhood and everything in between.
I'm taking away from this the idea that no prescribed equation works for marriage. What works for Ryan and I might not work for you and your partner, and vice versa. I also gathered that there is no "secret to a happy marriage." "It's a hold on tight and buckle in, this is going to be a crazy ride" kind of a deal, you know? This book showed me that you have to let go of what you think a perfect marriage is and work with what you've got.
I will definitely read it again, I actually really want to buy it so I can refer to it periodically.
Have you read Committed yet? What did you think?
I really liked her first book so I'm definitely interested in reading this at some point. Considering she went through a bad divorce that inspired her trip around the world, and the fact that she didn't even want to get married again, I'm not surprised that it has a pessimistic tone. She calls herself a skeptic, after all. But I'm still curious...
ReplyDeleteHaven't read it, but sounds interesting. Hubby and I have learned that we need to do what works for us and keeps us happy whether our friends/family do the same or agree with the path we're taking. Its a hard road sometimes, but its worth it to stick it out :) I also feel like since we've been together and lived together for almost 4 years before getting married, we worked out the first year issues like chores, finances and toilet seat down (not up!). We definitely acted married from day one of living together, just didn't have the paper ;)
ReplyDeletePS: I'll be sending your aunt my project for the pillow!!! I'll take pics and write a pre-sending piece before I mail it this weekend! I'm so excited to see the final product and share what we're doing :)