Life in a Marital Institution Twenty Years of Monogamy in One Terrifying Memoir

by Braly, James

• ISBN13: 9780312607289
• ISBN10: 0312607288
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-04-02
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Inside a manic, messed-up marriage, from the very winning point of view of the tortured husband, based on Braly's one-man show The marriage memoirfrom Isabel Gillies's It Happens Every Dayto Julie Metz's Perfectionhas been a balm to beleaguered wives everywhere. But who speaks for the husbands? In this sharp, funny glimpse into a very unusual marriage, sensitive, bedraggled, decent James Braly earns the job. His marriage to a woman so unsuitable for him that their very first meetingwhere she corrects the handwriting he uses to write her prized name and number on a slip of papersends him into the fetal position is both fascinating and casually shocking by turns. The scenes from Braly's marriage are wrapped around the story of where he came from: a colorful, kooky family that includes a fierce fighter pilot dad, a debutante heiress mom, and a delightfully druggy sister dying in a Houston hospice, and who'd rather be dead than married to Anne, who: Breastfeeds her children until they are 6 and 7 yearsold Holds forth at a dinner party describing the many excellent recipes for . . . placenta ("I know we used a spice that begins with a 'C'. What was it? Oh, I know: cumin! So delicious that way.") Efficiently emasculates our author at every turn, finally kicking him out of the "family bed" in favor of her two precious boys Braly's one-man show of the same name is currently touring the country, sponsored by Meredith Vieira Productions, which has optioned the show for film and television rights.

Author Biography

JAMES BRALY is a writer and performer who has contributed autobiographical stories to This American Life, The New York Times, and The Moth, where he is the first two-time winner of the Moth GrandSlam, and a featured performer on their national tour, podcast, radio hour, and CD collections. His Off-Broadway monologue Life in a Marital Institution sold out 59E59 Theaters in New York City,, where it was reviewed as "gaspingly funny" (Variety) and "never less than excellent" (New York Times). The show is touring the country presented by Meredith Vieira Productions, which is developing it for TV. In his other lives, James writes speeches for global business leaders, and he teaches autobiographical storytelling at Fordham University.