Sunday, January 17, 2010

Book Review: How to Get Divorced by 30


When I first received this book, I thought, "Huh. What is this? Is this an advice book on how to get divorced?"

But once I started flipping through the pages, I realized How to Get Divorced By 30: My Misguided Attempt at a Starter Marriage, written by Sascha Rothchild, was a memoir.

The book starts with Rothchild approaching her 30th birthday and realizing she didn't want Jeff, her husband of 2 and a half years, at her party. Then Rothchild takes us back to her relationships before Jeff, what went wrong with those, when she met Jeff, how their relationship started out, when they decided to get married, and how Rothchild eventually decided to get divorced.

Rothchild, a TV producer and freelance writer for many newspapers and blogs, is so insightful about both her self and her significant others in all her relationships. Her unfortunately too late hindsight on her relationships may help the people reading her book. She walks the reader through her relationship and shows them the warning signs she missed. For example, she went to a lingerie party at the Playboy Mansion with another guy while she was dating Jeff, and he didn't seem to care. She also had to buy her own engagement ring, and could never get Jeff off of his La-Z-Boy recliner and away from his pot.

Rothchild's style of writing reminds me a lot of Chelsea Handler's, so if you like Handler's books, you'll love How to Get Divorced by 30. Besides rehashing her relationships, Rothchild lets us in on her wild child past (she started doing cocaine at age 13 and was dating a 19-year-old drug dealer at the time), and her kooky mother Susan (who doesn't allow her child to call her any form of "mom") who advised Rothchild, "Snort it if you must, but never inject heroin."

I'd be interested to see what a happily married twentysomething thinks of this book. As a single gal, I appreciated Rothchild's analysis of her relationships and marriage, and I think it showed me even more to be aware of the signs of a relationship that just won't work. I think it'd also be a helpful read of guys and girls who are thinking about taking the plunge.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary advanced review copy of this book from the publisher.