After I Do: A Novel
I’ve made it a general rule of mine to not read romance novels. Partly because it’s too easy to breeze through, and I end up chasing after them in one sitting; partly because I’m trying to read more non-fiction (note the ‘trying’ bit). But I picked up a copy of Malibu Rising around its release, and I loved Reid’s smooth portrayal of family life.
Similarly, After I Do aptly depicts many of the mundane – and often ugliest – aspects of life that eventually result in couples falling out of love. It’s an easy read that makes you almost forget all the drama and focus on what resonates with you. Oh, believe me, their fights are so realistic.
As the novel’s wise column advisor puts it: the sun will continue to rise no matter what happens in the world. Knowing that you’ll make it to another day isn’t a good enough judgment call for whether you should keep doing what you do.
Simply put, being able to do something doesn’t necessarily mean you enjoy it.
“I’m not sure there is a feeling quite like finding out that you make the person who makes you nervous, nervous. It makes you bold. It makes you confident. It makes you feel as if you could do anything in the world.”
Love isn’t all champagne and bubbles. Life goes on with bills to pay and no magic pill to swallow. And unless you’re brutally honest with yourself and the other person, somewhere along the way, resentment will build. Small triggers turn into full-blown arguments when you least expect them. Days when you start questioning your sanity to put up with all this.
But that’s life. The important thing is to figure out whether you care enough to carry on, to keep giving it your best, and if you do… you stay committed. That’s really all there is.
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