Marilyn Simon Rothstein

This book is HILARIOUS! 4.5 LOL STARS!!

Some favorites....
••• "Is bread still considered white once toasted?"

••• "I hate the term “baby lettuce.” Worse is “Boston baby lettuce.” It’s not bad enough you’re eating the baby. You have to know where it comes from."

••• "People I knew hardly ever called on the landline anymore, which was good because I liked to keep that phone open for insurance types who mispronounced my name and financial advisors hawking upside-down show more mortgages."

And those are literally from just the first 10% of the book!

I LOL'd from beginning to end. If you need some humor in your life, please do yourself a favor and get this book! You won't regret it.. I chuckled, I guffawed, I made all the silly noises that describe laughter. But get this - there is divorce, infidelity, cancer, family issues, heart attacks... and I still made all those silly noises!! Never have I laughed out loud so much from a book.

Marcy Hammer is done with her marriage. Despite a lifetime of memories, three adult kids and a pretty comfortable life, it's inexcusable what Harvey has done. She's got a new man in her life, but Harvey will not let her go. She's determined to get him to file, and move forward with the divorce. But while her own marriage is ending, her daughter Amanda gets engaged, and her marriage is just beginning.

The wedding planning is the bulk of the story - and it is hysterically insane. From beginning to end between thieving in-laws, silly traditions, and just having her kids meet Jon her new boyfriend, nothing is simple, everything involves some sort of challenge or confrontation - but Marcy takes it all in stride - doing her best as a mom, a friend, a partner - and her sense of humor truly shines in this book!

I loved Marcy, she is witty and feisty, and her family is just as dysfunctional as you'd want in a great book. The writing is sharp and quick, and I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. show less

We've all heard the statistics that 50% of marriages end in divorce and even though that number has never actually been true, its widespread acceptance in pop culture makes us unsurprised when we hear that someone we know is getting a divorce. In actual fact, the statistic is quite complicated and is quite low for people who have been married for a long time (roughly 35 years or more). Perhaps it is this that makes us more surprised when a long time marriage fails ccoupled with the idea that show more the couple has presumably been through so much and weathered it together. So it makes sense that only something huge like infidelity will drive them apart. This is the case in Marilyn Simon Rothstein's surprisingly humorous and empowering novel of a woman whose husband leaves her after 33 years of marriage.

Marcy and Harvey Hammer have been married for a long time. They have three grown children. Marcy has always tried to be a good, conscientious wife, helping her beloved Harvey with Bountiful Bosom, the family lingerie company, volunteering, and working part time at a local arts charity. She has put everyone else in her life first, only carving things out for herself last. But this is how she likes it; at least this is how she thinks she likes it until Harvey calls home one day and announces that he's leaving her. Eventually he admits that he's been having an affair with a 22 year old Argentinian bra fitting model and suddenly Marcy is living a cliche. As her marriage is falling to pieces, she also has to deal with her own oldest daughter's affair with a married man and her aging mother's devastating fall and sudden illness. She can hardly decide how she's going to handle Harvey and his infidelity when it's all she can do to handle the other curveballs that life is throwing her. While she works through her feelings about her husband and faces the other crises in her life, she meets Candy, a new friend juggling many of the same disasters that Marcy is but whose much appreciated connection to Marcy might be threatened.

The reader can't help but feel sorry for Marcy. She's invested everything in being a wife and mother and all of a sudden she is no longer the first and isn't needed daily as the second. Her search for who she is besides these two things drives much of the novel. It is incredibly realistic in Marcy's waffling back and forth on whether or not she can take Harvey back, whether she can forgive him, and most importantly, if she wants to do either of those things and that is sometimes frustrating but always forgivable. Often conflicted about her needs and wants in her new reality, Marcy is a funny and sarcastic character. She manages to maintain a charity of spirit towards her husband, even when she is most hurting, that is lovely but not too self-effacing to be believed. The secondary characters around her are entertaining, quirky, and realistic and add a satisfying depth to the story. The plot clips along at a good pace and the writing is smooth. There is a lot of humor here but there's also a thoughtfulness and a poignancy about the end of a long marriage that takes the novel beyond the superficial. It is a fast and appealing read as the reader roots for Marcy, wonders just what decision she'll ultimately make about Harvey, and no matter what her choice, watches her become the fully rounded and fulfilled woman she should be. Recommended fun. show less

In Marilyn Simon Rothstein's witty and heartfelt novel, Crazy To Leave You, readers are treated to a refreshing and relatable story about love, self-acceptance, and second chances.

The story follows forty-one-year-old Lauren Leo, who finds herself standing at the altar in her wedding gown, only to be blindsided by a text message from her groom, leaving her unceremoniously dumped. As Lauren navigates the aftermath of this humiliating experience, she grapples with her relationship with her show more family, her struggles with body image, and her journey towards self-acceptance and empowerment.

Rothstein's writing style is engaging and humorous, effortlessly blending humor, romance, and serious themes. Lauren is a compelling protagonist, and I found her to be relatable and authentic, with her sharp wit and fierce determination shining through. The portrayal of Lauren's relationships with her friends, sisters, and mother adds depth to the narrative.

One of the standout aspects of the novel is its exploration of real-life issues, such as body image, family dynamics, and workplace sexism, with sensitivity and humor. Rothstein tackles these topics with a light touch, allowing readers to laugh and empathize with the characters while still recognizing the seriousness of the underlying issues.

The pacing of the novel kept me engaged from start to finish. While romance is a part of the storyline, it is not the sole focus.

This book is perfect for anyone looking for a light-hearted yet thought-provoking read that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love and self-acceptance. Highly recommended! show less

Solid Tale Of Discovering Yourself In Mid-Life. There is an overarching theme through many of the lower-starred reviews (at least as I read Goodreads early on release day, just after finishing the book myself) that they "didn't know where this tale was going". To me... *this is the very point of the book*. Our main character suddenly finds herself directionless after what she thought she had in the bag collapses around her, and we get to watch as she picks up the shattered pieces and show more rediscovers herself - and discovers her voice for possibly the very first time - in the aftermath. In this, Rothstein does a truly tremendous job of having a solid combination of support and antagonism - often in the same supporting characters. Thus showing that *everyone* is flawed to some degree, but also that *everyone* is good to some degree as well. The banter is great, the emphasis on her time at summer camp as a teen is excellent nostalgia reminiscent of Wet Hot American Summer, the slow burn romance is well executed, and even the very serious issues discussed - workforce discrimination (though never truly fleshed out there), diet "culture", overbearing but well intentioned parents, etc - are done well, with just enough weight to give substance without becoming truly overbearing. Very much recommended. show less