Why I'm Still Married: Women Write Their Hearts Out on Love, Loss, Sex, and Who Does the Dishes

Whether they're on their first marriage or their fourth, each of the 24 contributors to this thought-provoking collection has terrific stories and wisdom to share, and they all do it masterfully. "Nobody is a perfect match and we have to accept that," writes Marge Piercy, who has learned to accommodate her husband's quirks, just as he has hers. Editor Propp's husband expressed his annoyance—anger, actually—over differences so viciously that after five years she began fantasizing about leaving. Instead, she went to the Internet, read about verbal abuse and learned to stand up for herself. NPR reporter Maria Hinojosa says, "I stay married because this is the one person who understands how to help make me into a better person." You might not agree with everyone's theories—Hannah Pine defends her choice to be a mother in an open marriage—but each one deals with the real problems, and pleasures, of marriage. As editor Trounstine puts it: "[m]arriage doesn't have the excitement of the illicit or the thrill of the daredevil. It's more like the quiet hum of the everyday and the occasional surprise of the sunset." Agent, Neeti Madan. (Jan. 24)