BOOKS
Hardcover, 304 pages
Touchstone Books
2010
The Husbands and Wives Club
A Year in the Life of a Couples Therapy Group
REVIEWS
"Toggling between cynic and romantic, Abraham is fluent in both the wonky and the fuzzy-wuzzy language of marital therapy. She bandies about a dizzying assortment of competing therapeutic philosophers and distills their approaches with aplomb."
— Pamela Paul, The New York Times (March 25, 2010. Read the full review.)
"Keeping their marriages together is certainly essential to the couples in Laurie Abraham's "The Husbands and Wives Club," about a year in the life of a couples-therapy group. …Ms. Abraham—who attended counseling sessions with five couples and marriage therapist Judith Coché—dives into the gritty details of the here and now. The very gritty details."
— Laura Vanderkam, The Wall Street Journal (March 6, 2010. Read the full review.)
ADVANCE PRAISE
"Abraham is that rare combination of lyricist and reporter, a writer who, when she thinks hard about something, can explain the world anew. You should definitely read The Husbands and Wives Club; it's riveting to be inside other people's marriages, and Abraham's reporter's suspicion and truth telling, mixed with her writerly compassion, make for a well-reported, deeply engaging book that may help your relationship as well."
— Roberta Myers, ELLE, editor in chief
"Abraham's premise seems simple: follow a group of couples through a year of marital therapy and see what happens. But the result—narratively, intellectually, spiritually—is a profound, inspiring reflection on one's own relationship in ways that have potential to strengthen and even transform it."
— Peggy Orenstein, author of Waiting for Daisy and Schoolgirls
"What is more interesting to read about than other people's marriages? This is one of the smartest and most candid books on marriage I know."
— Phyllis Rose, author of Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages
"Abraham weaves increasingly fascinating sessions of a couples therapy group with meticulous research about love, marriage, therapy, and humanity. The result—part science, part psychology, part riveting drama—left me moved, cheering, and, frankly, floored by how far these couples could come."
— Cathi Hanauer, editor, The Bitch in the House
"The Husbands and Wives Club is that rare work of nonfiction that reads like a really good novel—it's rich in character, drama and emotional suspense."
— Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children