The Longest Date: Life as a Wife

by Cindy Chupack

The bestselling author of The Between Boyfriends Book and an award-winning writer for Sex and the City and Modern Family takes a hilarious, heartbreaking look at marriage

Cindy Chupack has spent much of her adult life writing about dating and relationships for several hit TV series and as a sex columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine . At the age of thirty-nine, she finally found The One—and a wealth of new material.

Marriage, Cindy discovered, was more of an adventure than she ever imagined, and in this collection of essays she deftly examines the comedy and cringe-worthy aspects of matrimony. Soulful yet self-deprecating, The Longest Date recounts her first marriage (he was gay) and the meeting of Husband No. 2, Ian.

After the courtship and ceremony, both Cindy and Ian realized that happily ever after takes some practice, and near constant negotiation over everyday matters like cooking, sex, holidays, monogamy, and houseguests. The Longest Date takes a serious turn when it comes to infertility.

The Longest Date is the perfect companion for anyone navigating a serious relationship, be it newlyweds or couples moving in that direction.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Biography, Relationships, Adult, Chick Lit

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2014

About the author

Cindy is the author of The Between Boyfriends Book - A Collection of Cautiously Hopeful Essays, a New York Times bestseller that has been translated into nine languages. In addition, she has written humorous essays about dating and relationships for O, The Oprah Magazine (where she had her own column called “Live Your Best Love Life”), Glamour (where she had a column called “Dating Dictionary”), Harper’s Bazaar, Allure, People, Self, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, Slate and the New York Times. Her new comic memoir, The Longest Date - Life as a Wife, was released by Viking in January 2014 and is currently out in paperback.

Cindy Chupack has won three Golden Globes and two Emmys for her work as a writer/producer of ABC’s Modern Family and HBO’s Sex and the City. Several episodes she penned -- Little Bo Bleep (Modern Family) and Evolution, Attack of the 5'10" Woman, Just Say Yes, Plus One is the Loneliest Number, I Love a Charade, and Splat! (Sex and the City) -- were individually nominated for Writer's Guild and Emmy awards.

Other TV credits include Everybody Loves Raymond, Coach, and the hour-long romantic comedy anthology series Cindy created for NBC called Love Bites (all eight Love Bites episodes are available on Amazon).

Her first screenplay (the adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel, How to Be Good, with the late, great Laura Ziskin producing for Miramax) made the Black List for Hottest Unproduced Screenplays of 2008.

Cindy grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and received a journalism degree from Northwestern University, then moved to New York City to work in advertising right out of college. She sold her first humorous essay to a women’s magazine in 1990, and the piece was spotted by a TV producer who encouraged her to pursue comedy writing, which she’s been doing ever since.

Cindy lives in Los Angeles with her husband, their daughter and their St. Bernard rescue, Tink. Tink made Cindy realize that she was, in fact, a dog person, and that "conversion" inspired her to write and direct the award-winning short film, "Whose Dog Is It Anyway?” starring Sarah Paulson.

Reviews

[Q2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's worth noting that I started reading this book without any prior knowledge of who Cindy Chupack is and how prolific she is. Chupack makes some assumptions that the reader does know about her background and drops some allusions to her impressive resume (Sex & The City?!). It was a nice surprise to discover that my new girlfriend (for that's how it feels to read her writing) was also famous and well-connected. :)

I read a proof of this book just a few days before publication. If it wasn't her name that attracted me, you ask, what did? As a librarian, I'm ashamed to admit it was merely the title and cover art. Both let me know that the book would be about some of my favorite topics (interpersonal relationships & romance) and that the author must have a tremendous sense of humor (she does).

Anyway, reading this book was like reading personal emails from an old friend. From the get-go, I cared about her memories, her sadnesses, her happinesses, and her moments of hilarity (and clarity). This is a real love story punctuated with flashbacks, clever asides, and filled with memorable people. This book introduces us to the love of Chupack's life (Ian) and traces, loosely, the trajectory of their love story to the present day. I was surprised to learn, as I read, that Chupack wanted children and had difficulty conceiving and carrying a baby to term. As someone who has also struggled with recurrent miscarriage, this book offered some unexpected catharsis. It's nice to know we're not alone. It's beautiful to see a couple come closer in order to survive the emotional trials of such hardship, rather than let it tear them apart.

Chupack doesn't pull punches, which endears her to the reader and inspires a certain respect. To sum up...I like her. :) In a way, this is a sort of 'Every Woman' book, with elements that will appeal to a wide variety of women.

I've already recommended this book to my sister-in-law, a SATC fan. This book succeeded in piquing my interest for Chupack's other memoir/novel--The Between Boyfriends Book. Chupack's last sentence in this book says it all: "We're all in this together." I imagine, because of how easy it is to relate to Chupack, there will be a great many other women (well, most likely) who would love to read this book too.

[Colby Devitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought I’d meet another woman who admitted to being bored at the Olympics of sexual gymnastics – a Ping-Pong sex show in Thailand. (I refer you to her hilarious chapter “I Find My Husband Rappelling.”) The genius of Cindy Chupack is that she makes you feel like she’s your best and funniest friend. She takes you through the highs and lows of her early married life – the initial romance, the adventure travel, health scares, money issues and the aching pain of infertility (and the “trying nature of trying”).

But in the end, where I most want to be with my new authorial friend is accompanying her on her most mundane activities – walking her oversized dog around her neighborhood; sitting on her couch sipping pumpkin-infused vodkas; and binging on Reality TV. This is because her writing makes me feel that she can find the humor in anything. It doesn’t matter where she finds it, I just want to be there when it happens. This to me, is a little like what the holy grail of seeing marriage as a long date is about. Because, as a long-term couple, if you can’t make sitting on your couch feel as exciting as watching a ping-pong show in Thailand, then it’s not going to be a longest date for very long. If Cindy’s relationship with her husband is as fun, considered and artfully-crafted as her writing, then who doesn’t want to go over to their “house of sand and fur” for dinner?

Her book itself is like a great date. Chupack presents her marriage in its best light (every chapter is impeccably humorous and spiffily written), while still making it seem totally heartfelt, honest and real. She addresses ordinary concerns that appeal to many people, yet infuses them with enough specificity that she feels at once entirely accessible (thus the desire to be her friend) and unique enough for you to marvel at her specialness (thus the desire to be her best friend.) The good news for Cindy is that now that her book is done, she can turn her attentions back to her husband. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, our date with Cindy and Ian lasts only the length of a fast-paced book. And, as after any great date, I am left reluctant for it to end and yearning for another.

[littleKitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an ARC of Cindy Chupack’s The Longest Date: Life as a Wife. I have to say after realizing that she wrote for Sex in the City I wasn't so thrilled about reading it. I've NEVER been a fan of that show. After reading the first couple chapters I found out why she is an award- winning writer. Cindy’s writing is hysterical! I caught myself laughing out loud throughout the book, and then rereading those bits to the hubby. I related easily to Cindy’s journey, although I did get annoyed by all the name dropping.

“And marriage, for better or worse, means you have a full-time, live-in enabler. That’s one of my favorite aspects of marriage, actually---the fact that your partner in life can be your partner in crime. Together, you can create new traditions, make your own rules, and break you own rules.”

I was pleased to read an essay written by her husband too. This was the first time I had read a males point of view on the subject. My heart hurt for the both of them during their loss of their unborn child; making me relive an all too familiar scenario myself.

So, not only did I laugh A LOT, I CRIED too! I will be recommending this read to friends and family alike; and plan to be reading more from this author soon.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I won this through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that actually had me laughing out loud. I've never read anything by Cindy Chupack - but I'm a huge fan of Sex and The City. I loved her style of writing and would love to read more from her.

It's nice to read something that describes the harsh realities of marriage. I'm not married, but I've seen enough married couples my age to know it's not easy. Cindy Chupack leads you through some of her single years and the first five(ish) with her second husband (you get to read about her first husband-hilarious). You find out what it's like to date a bad boy, how good it can be to renew your vows every year, how annoying your husband will be (and how to deal), and fertility problems that you never think will happen to you.

Seriously loved this.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, laughed out loud many times. I'm not surprised to learn she's written not only for Sex and the City, but for Modern Family and Everybody Loves Raymond too. Very clever and very funny.

[Gaele · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of essays on life and marriage comprise this book: written by Cindy Chupack a writer for Sex and the City. Perhaps if I had been able to pass the frequent references to her life as a successful and award winning scriptwriter, I would have felt more engaged with this story. But, in the first 5 essays, there are no less than 9 references to her “day job”, her “success” and even her financial standing because of the position: leaving me feeling less than interested in the content, as if those credentials were solid and reason enough for me to love the story unreservedly.

Yes, the writing did have humor and emotion, and the essays were well crafted: a nice balance between the humorous moments defined with a skew that brings amusement into stories and emotion developed to bring a tear during the struggles was laid out. But, again, the slight arrogance in the tone set early on made this less than a gripping read for me, and one that I couldn’t connect with in any substantive way.

I received an eArc from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through the Goodreads' giveaway program and was very excited to read it! For someone who has worked on such funny television shows, I was disappointed by how unfunny Cindy Chupack's book, "The Longest Date, Life As A Wife," was.  Chupack recounted her failed marriage to a gay man and then discussed a variety of aspects of married life with husband number two.  I anticipated that this book would be a non-fiction version of "Jennifer Johnson Is Sick Of Being Married", which was a hilarious story of the ups and downs of matrimonial unbliss.  There was nothing wrong with the writing, style, or Chupack's voice, but "The Longest Date" was outright boring.  Each chapter focused on a different aspect of marital life, but nothing about those stories was particularly funny.  I didn't laugh a single time.  I did not finish this book because, aside from the cute cover, there wasn't anything remotely interesting happening.

I would love if you would read more of my reviews on my blog: http://fastpageturner.wordpress.com

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway. The first 3/4 of the book I was craving something more. More humor, more relatable material, even more Carrie. I loved that Cindy was telling me the truth. Marriage is hard and the beginning is quite a ride. I appreciated and wanted more of that honesty. I finally got it in the last few chapters and found myself really connecting, not in the way I had been hoping, but in a very raw way that caught me off guard. I understood by then that I needed the whole story to get to the end. I closed the book knowing I had learned something and developed some very real empathy. I am grateful to have won this book and had the opportunity to walk away with a new perspective. Definitely worth the read.

[Carla Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing throughout, but especially poignant at the end

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Anyone who is or has been married can relate to events in it.

[Carin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just got married in August so a memoir about being a newlywed was right up my alley. I also read Ms. Chupack's previous book about being single, and I've enjoyed her writing on various TV shows (Sex and the City, Modern Family) very much. In fact, I did feel like, in a couple of chapters, I saw where certain episodes of SatC came from.

After a short, failed first marriage (turns out he was gay), Cindy was somewhat resigned to staying single. But then she met a "bad boy" who didn't want to be committed, let alone get married. She thought he sounded like fun. He turned out to be the one and proposed on an actual horse. She then had to adjust to living with him, and his dog, and then there were more adjustments when they decided they wanted to have a kid. And when they had troubles having a kid, that meant even more adjustments.

Each chapter read as a short self-contained essay. In fact the one about the snow machine I know I've read before. But they do progress pretty much linearly. She keeps things light with a good dose of humor, even when the material is less than light. She has a very easy style to read, and the book isn't long. I could have read it in just a few hours but I was enjoying it, so I spread it over a few days. It's a perfect gift for an older newlywed (Ms. Chupack was forty when she married Ian.) or an older singleton who still believes in love.

[Liralen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I expected with this. Humour, certainly, but maybe something more biting, à la Jen Lancaster.

The writing is funny -- and good, as one might hope for from an Emmy-nominated writer -- but in a gentler way. The essays cover, more or less, the first five years of the author's marriage, gradually working their way from the lighter stuff to the stress -- and trauma -- of fertility struggles and miscarriage.

The author's husband is present as a vehicle, rather than a target, for humour -- nice, once I adjusted my expectations (see above...). I could have done without the vows (though they made an interesting counterpoint to the five-year version), but what was really interesting to me was the essay by the author's husband. Often that sort of thing ends up feeling, to me, cringeworthy -- the other person's writing isn't up to par, or the content doesn't add much, or the point seems to be to praise the primary writer. This brought in more details and another (well-written) perspective, and it worked really well in the context of the rest of the essays.

It's a book that moves from light to dark and back towards the light. I recommend spacing out the essays some (I read it all in one day), but it surpassed my expectations.

I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.

[Sarah Cauble · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Longest Date: Life as a Wife is a collection of essays by Sex and the City writer Cindy Chupack. That—and the title—were reason enough for me to read this book. I laughed, I cried (okay, I just teared up), and sometimes I cringed. Don't get me wrong, many of the essays were humorous and totally relatable (eg: "...marrying someone means that even if you didn't used to want to talk to strangers, you may want to start talking to strangers, because, unlike your husband, they at least have something new to say."). The cringeworthy parts included a raunchy tale about sex shows in Thailand (that were slightly funny but mostly horrifying) and stories about her extravagant lifestyle as a successful writer. Ultimately, would I recommend this book? Definitely. I think any wife can relate. Cindy Chupack is an incredibly witty writer and her candid observations on marriage are far from "happily ever after."

[Daniale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to like it. But I did. Some parts were hilarious and made me laugh out loud while other parts were very touching and brought on the waterworks. My college English professor said that through reading and writing we learn about ourselves and others and this is how we grow. In this book, Cindy Chupack details how her and Ian have grown in their lives and in their marriage and by reading it I have grown with them.

[Melissa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winning this book through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway was even luckier than I thought. Compulsively readable, endless entertaining, truly laugh-out-loud funny at times yet deeply moving, too-- this book is a winner! It makes sense that Cindy Chupack was a Sex and the City writer, because this book reminded me of the way I used to devour episodes of the show. I hope this is the first in a series, too!

[Reading Fool · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Funny and engaging book. This memoir chronicles the author's marriage (about 7 years) and their quest to have a baby. No matter what your situation, whether single or married, with or without child, there is something to relate to. Chupack's writing is hilarious. This is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! From one of the Sex and the City writers - hilarious and down-to-earth (just like her first book, Between Boyfriends)

[JH · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was quite a bit about trying to become a parent, which wasn't exactly up my alley, but Chupack still kept me engaged. I really liked her and was curious to see where her stories would lead.

[Christine - Beach Reading is the Best Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and flew through it in 2 days (that's fast for me even for a shorter book, this is just over 200 pages).
I rarely give books 5 stars, and while I'm not claiming that this book of essays/memoir is worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, it was exactly what I was looking for and it was a REALLY GOOD version of what I was looking for.
I'd been reading a string of darker, psychological thrillers and wanted a fun break. My last attempt didn't go so well. I came across The Longest Date for a huge bargain, figured that it couldn't hurt to try it, and I'm so glad I did. Chupack was insightful, honest (sometimes brutally so), so funny, incredibly relatable (I can't quite describe HOW relatable she was), and her writing was fantastic. It really did feel like I was talking to a close friend who said and thought things I have felt/thought or could at least relate to and understand (since I'm not married and don't have children!).
As another reviewer noted, I wasn't aware of Chupack and her impressive resume (she wrote for Sex and the City AND Modern Family!), so my review of her writing/story-telling is independent of her well-known occupation.
I highly recommend The Longest Date...and it isn't "fluff." Chupack tackles her real-life issues: the good and bad of being married, what it's like to lose your single life, infertility, how it really feels to make more money than her husband, etc. However, it isn't a "downer," either. She writes about these topics with both reverence and humor.
I was also unaware of her earlier book, The Between Boyfriends Book, which I will be getting ASAP. If I could relate to essays about a woman who marries later in life and her triumphs and struggles that follow, I can definitely relate to being a single woman, "between boyfriends," since that's what I am!

[Andrea L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book and was torn between giving it four and five stars, but I didn't enjoy it as much as her previous book, The Between Boyfriends Book, and felt that this one was lacking a bit more of the humor that TBBB contained. That said, this is a touching, and at times quite funny, read that surely won't disappoint. I also felt that she did a great job of making the material accessible to anyone, of any age, regardless of marital status.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book fell flat for me. I thought it was going to be a more generalized comedy on marriage and the nuances of spouses. There was so much opportunity to elaborate and it just fell short. I mean the chapter on the man cold could have been genius but it was just "meh-okay"
I can't relate to infertility struggles and I can't begin to imagine what that must've been like. I thought she did a nice job summarizing the difficulties with that while keeping the light heartedness of the book.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, entertaining, heartfelt. A good book. The author was a little obnoxious at times but her humor and ability to relay emotion prevailed. Her infertility struggles and overall love for her family really hit home.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up at the library clearance sale.
Not something I would have looked for otherwise.

A cute collection of short stories about the time between meeting her husband and the adoption of their daughter. Cute moments, well written, easily relatable.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing married stories from a writer from Sex and the City.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I expected more humor from the book.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

As long as we're talking about books that there is nearly zero percent chance I would have picked up randomly based on the title/cover/marketing blurb, let us talk about The Longest Date: Life as a Wife, which is Sex & The City & Modern Family writer/producer Cindy Chupack's extremely candid account of her marriage twelve years in.

I picked up this book after hearing Chupack's interview with Anna Sale on the podcast "Death, Sex, & Money" (which, podcast junkies, if you aren't yet listening to it, definitely get on that!). To be honest, reading hundreds of pages about the details of some ordinary stranger's marriage doesn't sound particularly exciting, but there was something about the interview that piqued my interest. Maybe it was her stark honesty she spoke with. Maybe it was because she seemed so stereotypically "un-wife-like." In any case, I thought, "This woman's marriage sounds fascinating, yet completely regular-people-like!" So I picked up the book.

Which is not difficult reading. (I finished it on a single plane ride.) The book is all of 212 pages, and manages to be funny and entertaining even when she's writing about some pretty heavy stuff. She pulls absolutely no punches, laying bare just about every facet of her relationship with her husband, from their courtship as late-thirty-somethings to raising an adopted child at fifty.

And I think it's that completely candid openness that makes it such a compelling read. It's not, "Marriage is hard work but if you pick the right person and really love each other and practice gratitude or whatever you'll make it through the tough times." It's more like "I'm the luckiest person alive!" on some days and on others "SWEET JESUS WHAT HAVE I DONE," and for her getting married was agreeing to stick it out, even on the SWEET JESUS days. (That, and coming to terms with the fact that she was a control freak & now had someone permanently in her life that she couldn't control.) If you've ever had a moment when you're like, "Oh god, why can't we be like all those nice, normal people who are super in love all the time & never have any horrible moments together???," this book is a great reminder that nobody is those people, because we are all real, live humans with strengths and flaws and history and baggage, and that's what you sign up for when you marry a real, live human.

For me, personally, the last fifty pages were the least interesting, because I don't have any particular interest in babies or the fertility struggles of strangers; no matter how hard I try, I just cannot relate. But they're also some of the most emotionally wrought pages in the book (duh), sad and funny simultaneously, and I'll admit that a page here & there roused my cold, bitter ice cube of a heart.

So yeah. Real, funny, thought-provoking, scary, entertaining, honest, encouraging, but more than anything else, real, and I appreciate real.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Shelf Addiction! Check this and more of my reviews at Shelf Addiction

Disclaimer: I received this book as a courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Sex In The City". That's what first caught my attention when I read the synopsis provided by the publicist. I loved the writing on that TV show, so of course I thought that I would also enjoy Cindy Chupack's writing style. Second was that crazy cover. I got a chuckle out of that. Third, being that I'm married, I always enjoy hearing others take on marriage, especially a comical one.

The memoir was well paced and easy to read. In addition to the story flowing smoothly, I was genuinely entertained. Chupack is witty, a tad snarky and hilarious. I actually found myself laughing out loud more than a few times. The one thing that I felt was a bit much was the name dropping. Yes, we know you've worked with and most likely had dinner with more than a few A list celebrities. Thankfully that was not the main focus and was only a minor part of the story. Putting the name dropping aside, which was only slightly annoying, Chupack's account of her marriage woes are comical and pretty entertaining. Even the heavy subject matter of infertility is somehow lightened a bit.

After reading The Longest Date, as a married lady myself, I found that I really related to Chupack and her husband. Even though I'm not Jewish, wealthy, or an Emmy-nominated writer, the main themes in marriage cross all tax brackets, religions, and races; simply put, marriage is marriage. Each of us have our own adventure to contend with.

Chupack is what most of us would deem as an successful woman, and to read about her own personal drama is refreshing because it shows that everyone has ups and downs. Nobody has a picture perfect life and she does an excellent job giving us a good dose of both marriage and relationship reality. I really enjoyed several components of this story. I thought the chapter where she shares her marriage vows and her fifth year re-commitment vows were both touching and sweet. I also enjoyed her husband's moment to share his point of view on their attempts to have a baby. They both seem like genuine, fun and down to earth people.

I'm glad that this book was introduced to me as I probably wouldn't have come across it on my own. If you enjoy memoirs that read more like fiction than a history of events, then do check out The Longest Date.

[Tracy Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

In general, I'm not a huge fan of essay collections and am more partial to continuous narratives, so when I read Chupak's NYTimes piece, which was excerpted from this memoir, I bought the book because I loved her essay but I thought I might not love the whole book as much.

I was so wrong - I loved the entire book.

For one, Chupak does a great job weaving the essays together so the book feels like one continuous story, and as each chapter ended, I couldn't help starting the next, and the whole thing felt like one great story by the end.

Moreover, the book is just hands down hilarious. It's one thing to be able to include a funny paragraph here and there within a book, but Chupak's sense of humor had me laughing and totally engaged throughout the memoir. I was really struck by her mastery of voice and tone, so that her humor felt pretty pitch-perfect to me.

Ultimately, though, the memoir went beyond just humor and a propulsive narrative and it gave me things to think about even after I was done reading. Chupak is baldly honest when she discusses her marriage, and yet she does so in a way that still lets her incredible tenderness and love for her husband shine through. I found this balance really interesting. She addresses topics such as her mixed feeling as a successful woman who earns more than her husband and therein really captures the ambivalence I think a lot of women feel today around issues of success, dependence/autonomy, and marriage. She also writes movingly but not melodramatically at all about her struggles to become a parent, and I was especially taken with how she managed to render this section of the book both incredibly evocative but also restrained (in part by including an essay her husband wrote, which allows a much rawer portrait of pain over pregnancy loss than her own chapters do: an interesting narrative and structural decision, I thought, when I contemplated the book as a whole).

In the end, I loved this book for the paradoxical reason that it made me sad: sad when it ended. I love the feeling of wishing I could spend a little more time in the company of an author's voice, and that's exactly how I felt when I got to the last page of this surprisingly memorable memoir.

Can't recommend it highly enough to readers who like both to laugh and to think.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book as part of Goodread's giveaway program. As I was not familiar with the author, I went into it without any expectations.

Admittedly, I put off reading this book for a few days after receiving it. As someone in a long-term relationship, I wasn't sure I wanted to read about the challenges of being married. I already have reservations about marriage - at this point I feel a book that lies to me about how great marriage is would be more beneficial.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is composed of many individual "essays", although I found them to be more like chapters, as they were arranged chronologically and often referenced previous "essays". Whatever you want to call them, they were poignant, well developed and often humorous. I even laughed out loud a few times upon reading the author's clever description of the common marital issues facing newlyweds.

The last few "essays" take a somber turn as the author describes the challenges she and her husband faced trying to conceive. Certain parts are heartbreaking and are a far cry from the lighthearted and humorous tone of just a few pages prior. If I had an issue with this book, this would be it. The author includes a short essay written by her husband detailing the heartache of failed IVF, IUI and other attempts at having a baby.

Sidenote: I have to admit that after reading this book (and looking him up on the internet), I maybe have a bit of a crush on the author's husband.

His essay was brutal and honest and beautiful, and I'm very glad I read it, but it seemed a little out of place when located near a separate essay in which the author describes attending a show where ping pong balls are shot out of certain parts of the female anatomy (although, admittedly, it's a hilarious essay). I think Chupack's and her husband's experiences trying to have a baby would be great information for other couples facing similar challenges. However, hidden in a humorous memoir about marriage, they are likely to go unnoticed. That's why I gave this book 3.5 stars instead of 4.

[Stephanie Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Longest Date: Life as a Wife' is a funny and heartwarming look at one woman's life and experiences before and during marriage. The author tells stories from her dating life along with her marriage that are both laugh out loud funny and some that are deeply personal and serious. The topics range from her failed first marriage with a man who turned out to be gay, health scares, problems with getting pregnant, and dinner parties.

I was immediately pulled into the memoir by the author's writing style along with her witty and sarcastic storytelling. She spoke in a conversational tone that makes it feel like you're talking with an old friend and reliving funny incidents or stories that have happened over the years. Although most of the book is told in a light tone, it deals with several very serious and painful topics. The author opens her life and her heart to us as readers in the hopes that we can take away something from her experiences - either as a wife, a fiance, a woman, or just living life. Some of the chapters dealt with emotional and painful subjects that really tore at my heart, but somehow the author kept an upbeat attitude while regaling them. I really admire her for being able to share these personal stories from her life with us and for being so honest about everything - whether it's wanting to wring your husband's neck or having problems with infertility - she gives them all the same respect and upbeat tone. Readers will immediately identify with the author and her stories - either by personal experience, through a friend or family member's experiences, or just by giving them insight into the life of being a wife and all it entails. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a fun memoir full of great tales and witty commentary, as well as those who wish for a down to earth book with heart!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.