Avivah Wittenberg-Cox

“And they lived happily ever after...”

The greatest illusion of fairy tales is to make you believe they all have a “happily ever after” instead of a “happy for now”. All fairy tales in reality have an open ending as most of them end with the wedding between the prince and the one he loves. We never know what happens after. How long did they live together? Have there ever been misunderstandings or fights? Have the in laws been too nosy? If one of them died too early, what happened to the other one?
We love our fairy tales and we love more our dependence to illusions. And even more we cling to our fear of loneliness.
How many women have been stuck in a loveless or mentally abusive marriage for the sake of financial security or for the sake of the children? How many men have felt the connection they had with their wife in the first years of marriage falter year after year until there was nothing left and one morning you realized you woke up next to a stranger? How many LGBTQA members have one day felt something missing in their relationship with their partners after years and years of being together?

To live happily ever after ( no matter how far down the line of your life that happily ever after is) you need to have the courage to leave behind everything that doesn’t correspond to forming a couple. You have to renounce the illusion of security and certainty, you need the courage to exceed your boundaries, to always move forward with confidence and to enjoy every single moment of your trip.
This is not a book for women, this is a book for everyone part of a couple. The book tells you why it is okay to want to leave a 20 year old marriage if you no longer feel that connection with your partner, it is okay to want more, it is okay to break the social limitations enforced by old beliefs that leaving a marriage should be frowned upon. This is no longer the world of our parents and grandparents. This is a world where humanity is beginning to awaken and to understand that we are all here with a purpose and that our only purpose is to live our life to its fullest and live our highest excitements and learn from experiences. That is all.

“The cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once wrote that every woman needed three men in her life. One as first young love. One to be the father of your children. And finally, one to be your soulmate in full maturity. “

People come into your life with an objective. They may be there to teach you, to help you understand your limitations, to help you surpass them, to build with you or to learn from you. And when they achieve that goal, they sometimes leave. Don’t be sad that your partner has left you, their purpose in your life has been completed. It is now time for you to move forward. Time does not exist and growing old is just an illusion. Being 50, 60 doesn’t mean your life is over, it means a new phase has begun.

I cannot express how amazed I was of how well written and documented was this book. The book offers you tools, reading and video recommendations, Ted talks, essays, everything you need to understand how to approach not only a break-up but also how to start moving forward, no matter how old you are.
I loved the interviews and the experiences shared by people that have gone through separations after years and years of marriage.

5 stars. I wish all the members of my family, especially the ones over 50 could have read “Late Love : Mating in Maturity” some years ago. Fully recommend.

A copy was provided for an honest review by the author via Booktasters NonFiction @TasteNonfiction… (more)