All Happy Families: A Memoir

In this intimate debut memoir, McCulloch, a former managing editor of the Paris Review, reflects upon her August 1983 Long Island wedding, an occasion marked by her father’s massive stroke two days before, and his death the day after. Rather than focus on her own marriage, which dissolved five years later, McCulloch examines the marriages of her parents and in-laws. McCulloch describes her privileged life growing up in the late 1960s and early ’70s in Manhattan and East Hampton; her father was a former intelligence officer and her mother prided herself on her social standing and her Lilly Pulitzer outfits. Although her father was “sweet and loving,” he was also an alcoholic, and his drinking put a strain on the family. Nevertheless, her parents enjoyed travel and social engagements, and both were elegant dancers; in fact, McCulloch writes that their “surety and synchronicity” of step exemplified what a perfect marriage should be. Her in-laws appeared devoted and content, yet her father-in-law fell in love with another woman several years after McCulloch’s wedding. Some interesting characters stand out—notably McCulloch’s strong and opinionated mother, who insisted that the wedding must go forward; her fun-loving mother-in-law; and the groom’s grandmother, who kept pictures of prewedding table settings because, though a marriage may not last, a photo of a table setting lasts forever. It’s a bittersweet story and a wonderful look at upper-class New York City life. [em](Aug.) [/em]