cover image Something New: Reflections on the Beginnings of a Marriage

Something New: Reflections on the Beginnings of a Marriage

Amanda Beesley. Doubleday Books, $21.95 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-385-49905-7

In an attempt to move beyond familiar advice on the niceties of weddings, this former bride rolls up her sleeves and sets out to explain what it actually feels like to get married, not just how to organize a big party. Drawing from a column she wrote for Self magazine chronicling her engagement and first year of marriage, Beesley presents a nuanced portrait of the real experience behind the facade of the blushing bride. In her case, not only was this time in her life alternately thrilling and overwhelming, but she was also coping simultaneously with her mother's diagnosis of dementia, which came two days after her engagement. Writing almost as much about her changing relationship with her mother as about the transformations her wedding and new marriage have wrought, Beesley manages to balance the two without diminishing the significance of either or resorting to melodrama. It is a pleasure to watch her find the strength to deal with these major transitions with grace and humor. ""As she is, my mother loves me, with all the immediacy and intensity she has now. And for my part, I love her more than ever, with everything I have."" This is a poignant, heartfelt and often funny story about some of life's greatest challenges and rewards, and a perfect book for brides-to-be. (Jan.)