Cold Feet

by Heather Swain

Say "I do" to five surprising stories of women grappling with love and marriage and whether to walk down the aisle or run away.
In Elise Juska's "Perfect Weather for Driving," Megan and Joel's sunset fender-bender makes for a great drunken story at his friend's wedding, but the reality is hardly romantic. Stuck in a New England hotel waiting for the verdict on their Volvo, the two are forced to take stock of their own damaged relationship -- and whether it's too late to fix it.
In Tara McCarthy's "Losing California," engaged surfer Alison is convinced that Michael Madsen -- a member of her favorite band -- is her soul mate. Unfortunately, he's not her fiancé. So Alison flies to Nova Scotia, where Michael lives, because she's either right or she's wrong -- and she better find out before the wedding.
The bride-to-be in Pamela Ribon's "Sara King Goes Bad" has always done the right thing but decides it's important to know what it feels like to be reckless for once. And so two weeks before her wedding, she indulges in an unforgettable night of sex, drugs, and petty crime.
In Heather Swain's "The Happiest Day of Your Life," Annie and Ben plan a simple ceremony at an apple orchard. But when Annie loses perspective -- and everything that can go wrong does -- she's forced to rethink why she wanted a wedding in the first place.
The "Emily & Jules" of Lisa Tucker's story are two lonely people who meet on an online bulletin board for agoraphobics. But when Emily is invited to her estranged brother's wedding -- and it's clear across the country -- both she and Jules may be forced to change their ways.
Will any of these heroines get to the church on time? Cozy up with Cold Feet and find out.

Genres: Chick Lit, Short Stories, Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Heather Swain lives in a crooked house in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, two children, and a barkless dog. She is the author of novels for adults and young adults, craft books, and numerous short stories, personal essays, and non-fiction articles.

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a series of five different short stories all about the horrors of getting married.

Perfect Weather for Driving by Elise Juska was about a girl named Megan who has been dating her boyfriend Joel for four years and they are comfortable with each other but not in love. They are one another's security. When Megan starts going to cooking classes shes meets a guy named Max who is also married. They start a relationship and have a one night stand, never to see each other again. At a wedding, Joel and Megan come to realize they're not right for each other.
**This story was kind of slow and I didn't really like it that much, it was probably my least favorite.

Losing California by Tara McCarthy was about a girl who was engaged right before her mother died. After her mother's death she can't help but to question if shes really happy. So she goes on an adventure to find her favorite member of her favorite band, Michael Madsen in Nova Scotia.
**This story was my favorite of the five. It was cute and uplifting.

Sara King Goes Bad by Pamela Ribon was about a girl who always does the right thing, but the day before her wedding ditches her fiance to go on a night full of crime and stupidity, including a high speed police chase, all while being dressed in her wedding gown. This makes her realize why shes going to settle down and get married.
**I liked this story, but it wasn't my favorite. It didn't really have any depth, just a retold cliche of good girl gone bad.

The Happiest Day of Your Life by Heather Swain was about a girl named Annie who loses her perpective and gets greedy in planning her wedding. She wanted it to be simple at first, but her ambition to have the "perfect wedding" blinded her from what the day was really about. Everything that can possibly go wrong does, and she wonders why she wanted her wedding in the first place.
**I didn't really like this one either. It was, again, too cliche. I want something original, not something thats been made into a million tv shows and movies.

Emily and Jules by Lisa Tucker was about two agoraphobic people who met on and online bulletin board for agoraphobics. They share stories and perpectives on the beauty of life in the outside world by virtual tours and photographs. Emily discovers that she is not agoraphobic but doesn't have the heart to tell Jules because she falls in love with him. Jules hired a help dog so he could travel to see Emily, only to discover her not home. They fall out then reunite in the end despite their differences.
**I thought the theme of this was cliche, but atleast it approached the subject in a different way. I guess I'm just not into this romance wedding novel bullshit.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

old Feet is an anthology of five stories featuring engaged couples who are questioning their plans for the future.

"Perfect Weather for Driving" by Elise Juska finds Megan and Joel stranded at a hotel after they wreck their car on the way to attend a wedding. Their time together allows them to sort through their pet peeves and discover what they appreciate about each other. In "Losing California" by Tara McCarthy, Alison leaves her fiancé in California after a tragedy has her second-guessing her future plans. Alison isn't sure if her crush on a member of a band could turn into something real, but she's willing to take the chance to find out.

In Pamela Ribon's "Sara King Goes Bad," Sara decides that she isn't ready to be married and leaves her live-in fiancé. She gets mixed up in a crazy scheme that goes from bad to worse. "The Happiest Day of Your Life" by Heather Swain explores Annie and Ben's plans to have a simple wedding and the waterfall of things that go wrong in the process. Finally, "Emily & Jules" meet online in Lisa Tucker's story. They both suffer from agoraphobia, but what happens when Emily must attend her brother's wedding?

The stories are funny at times and mostly engaging. However, there is a depressing spirit that is pervasive throughout. All of the couples are living together, which doesn't allow for a great deal of variety in the plots. Some of the stories end with the couple actually getting married, others decide they are better off apart. Cold Feet is an interesting collection, occasionally bordering on thoughtful, and ultimately entertaining.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the clearance section of Half Price Books. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this selection of short stories surrounding the theme of brides who may/may not go to the altar. While the 5th story doesn't necessarily follow the theme, it was definitely still fun to read.

I think a challenge of writing short stories is that the author has to cover a concentrated amount of material in a shorter length. In a way, I actually like it better because it seems to prevent writers from including unnecessary fluff. All of these stories were well-paced and had excellent character development and dialogue. I could imagine several of them being made into movies.

Overall, these selection of stories has piqued my interest in potentially reading other works by these authors. Those who like "chick lit" will not be disappointed by this compilation.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories by women writers on the subject of marriage and, you know, cold feet. A couple of them are good, some are kind of not so good, and one is really, really funny in a messed-up sort of way. The funny one is by Pamela Ribon of pamie.com, which is where I heard about the book in the first place.

I never know what to say about short story collections. It's not like I can critique the book as a whole, but it would be silly to critique each individual story. Let's just say that the quality varies, and that it's not a bad read, all told.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up because Pamela Ribon's Why Girls are Weird is one of my favorite books, and it includes one of her short stories. These stories were mostly good, with one exception. Heather Swain's was my favorite.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories :)

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the short stories except the last one. The last one just couldn't suck me into the story. The others were quite enjoyable.