In the Weather of the Heart

In 1981, Monroe, a freelance writer, married talented designer Keith, a commitment she was more eager to make than he was. Four years later, Keith's twin brother, Brian, a cocaine addict, killed himself, an event that shattered Keith, who was already addicted to the barbiturates he took for his migraines and a dabbler in cocaine. After years of institutional rehabs, AA for him, Al-Anon for her and psychotherapy for both, and motivated by love for their son, they finally stitched their tattered relationship together. Val came to see them both as characters stumbling along in the dark and realized they had helped each other understand things about themselves they couldn't understand alone. A sensitive memoir and a good antidote for those who believe marriages require little work to be successful. (July)