But you seemed so happy A marriage, in pieces and bits

Harrington's first book, Amateur Hour (2018), was a series of essays on motherhood, a topic that, she relates here, would light strangers' faces with interest whenever she revealed it. The topic of this book, divorce, tends to make people mumble vague condolences and wander away, she says. Those readers who do give Harrington a chance will be rewarded with chronological essays brimming with witty observations, biting humor, and thoughtful commentary on courtship, marriage, parenting, happiness, inertia, and yes, divorce, all accompanied by insightful anecdotes about her 25-year marriage to the nicest guy on the planet. This is neither a bitter screed nor a heartbreaking sob story, but rather a brutally honest, revealing account of how two people came together, followed an expected path, consciously evaluated their relationship, and decided to end their marriage (although Harrington and her husband still live together with their two teenagers). Like many, Harrington wonders what the post-pandemic future will bring. Readers will be rooting for her, and hope that she has truly found contentment and happiness.

In these piercing essays, Harrington (Amateur Hour) performs an autopsy on her deteriorating marriage and her decision to divorce her husband of 25 years. "We all hear the dramatic stories of divorce, but we don't hear much about boring divorces. Or perfectly okay divorces," she writes. Harrington's divorce was just that: absolutely devoid of drama. There were no "affairs... nervous breakdowns," just the realization that she simply wasn't the same person as she was at 27, when she and her husband joined "The Path" of marriage that all their friends were on. Two children later (chronicled in a hilarious essay titled "Now That We've Had a Baby My Terms and Conditions Have Changed") the passion faded, and, later, the "divorce conversations" set in. After much hand-wringing, though, Harrington and her husband both found peace in knowing their decision to end things was for the good of their kids, too: "Did I want them to learn about marriage from this marriage?" In her compassionate treatment of a touchy subject, Harrington flips the divorce narrative on its head to underscore the beauty of choosing one's own path. Those struggling with the decision to stay or leave a marriage would do well to pick this up (and grab a highlighter). Agent: Ryan D. Harbage, the Fischer-Harbage Agency. (Oct.)