SOCIAL MEDIA

Review: Wife 22

Why I picked it: Everyone seems to be reading this book! 

Synopsis: Maybe it was those extra five pounds I’d gained. Maybe it was because I was about to turn the same age my mother was when I lost her. Maybe it was because after almost twenty years of marriage my husband and I seemed to be running out of things to say to each other. 

But when the anonymous online study called “Marriage in the 21st Century” showed up in my inbox, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. It wasn’t long before I was assigned both a pseudonym (Wife 22) and a caseworker (Researcher 101).

And, just like that, I found myself answering questions.

Before the study, my life was an endless blur of school lunches and doctor’s appointments, family dinners, budgets, and trying to discern the fastest-moving line at the grocery store. I was Alice Buckle: spouse of William and mother to Zoe and Peter, drama teacher and Facebook chatter, downloader of memories and Googler of solutions.

But these days, I’m also Wife 22. And somehow, my anonymous correspondence with Researcher 101 has taken an unexpectedly personal turn. Soon, I’ll have to make a decision—one that will affect my family, my marriage, my whole life. But at the moment, I’m too busy answering questions.

As it turns out, confession can be a very powerful aphrodisiac.

Quick Take: Well... I'm forty-four, a runner and the family facebooker.  My husband is in consumer products marketing.  Strange set of coincidences as I started reading this book. Thank goodness it ends there!

This novel explores how a bored wife finds a little excitement - a secret that snowballs into the 'potential of more'. It's a quick read, an original take on an age old situation.

Women will connect with this book, especially those who have been married for a long time.  Most of us can look at our friends and see that some are happier than others with any/all aspects of life, not just their marriage. I am left wondering how this book could impact someones life... if they are bored with their marriage this could be a discussion starter. 

Here are a few of the questions Alice is asked to answer:
- List three things that scare you.
- Do you believe love can last?
- Would your friends say you are happily married?
- What do you think about the current trend of couples divorcing based on spouses feeling more like roommates than lovers?
- Describe something you wouldn’t admit to your best friend
- Has your life turned out the way you hoped it would?
- Write a letter to your spouse telling them what you can’t say in person

Rating: 4 stars
Source: Review Copy