Description
Taylor Jenkins’ After I Do Reid is an honest and moving book that asks a subject that many couples are afraid to answer: What do you do when love runs out? This isn’t the story of how Ryan and Lauren fell in love. It tells the narrative of what comes next, the part that not many people talk about, when everyday worries, silent anger, and the grind of existence slowly wear down even the strongest love.
Lauren and Ryan have been together for almost ten years. They’ve made a life together, shared their aspirations, and dealt with all the little and huge problems that come with being an adult. But now their marriage is on the verge of falling apart. Every time we talk, it turns into a quarrel. Every time I try to become close to someone, it feels forced or rejected. They used to be warm and loving toward each other, but now they’re cold and angry. They can’t recall the last time they were really happy together or even really liked each other.
They know they can’t keep going like this, but they can’t entirely let go. So they make a very unusual decision: they will be apart for a year. They won’t be able to talk to each other or see each other at all. The premise is simple and crazy: live apart for a year and then meet at the end to determine if you want to get back together or get a divorce. It’s a last-ditch effort to rescue their marriage and a scary plunge into the unknown.
The following is a real, often difficult, but ultimately uplifting look at what it means to love yourself and someone else. Lauren is lost at first. She feels like she’s lost a part of herself without the regular rhythm of her life with Ryan. But with time, she starts to remember who she was before they got married and who she might want to be today.
She relies on her family, whose complicated relationships provide her both comfort and trouble. Her mother, who has learned the hard way what it takes to keep a marriage going. Her sister is at a totally different point in her life, yet she still knows what it’s like to doubt love. Her brother, whose silent support is one of the book’s small joys. Lauren learns that love comes in many ways through these interactions. She also learns that being open with the ones who know you best can be a type of salvation.
The lack of Ryan also becomes a character in the story. His memory, their shared past, and the chance of their future haunt every page, even when he’s not there. Taylor Jenkins Reid achieves something amazing by making their connection feel stronger when it’s not there than when they were arguing. She teaches us that sometimes you can’t understand your relationship or your own heart unless you take a step back and look at things from a distance.
Reid’s writing is warm, natural, and very smart. She doesn’t make the hard effort of keeping love seem romantic. Instead, she honors it by illustrating that forgiveness, compromise, and selecting each other over and over are the real keys to a long-lasting relationship. The book doesn’t give simple answers or neat endings. Instead, it tells the truth: love is as much about staying in love as it is about falling in love, and the toughest part of marriage is frequently not falling in love but resolving to stay in love.
If you want modern fiction that doesn’t shy away from the difficulties of actual relationships, After I Do is the book for you. It is a tragic and honest narrative of finding love again, as well as love for yourself, familial ties, and the strength to start over.
About the Author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Malibu Rising. Her novels are celebrated for their emotionally rich storytelling, nuanced characters, and her keen insight into the complexities of love, fame, and identity.
Product Details
- Title: After I Do
- Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- ISBN-13: 9781476712840
- Publisher: Washington Square Press
- Published: July 2014
- Pages: 352
- Binding: Paperback
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