I Married My Mother-in-Law by Ilena Silverman (Editor)

From the Publisher

In the tradition of The Bitch in the House, a provocative anthology of original essays about one of life's most complicated relationships.

In-laws are the family members you inherit when you choose your spouse. They're the unavoidable human baggage attached to the person you love. It's a relationship that can be traumatic, harrowing, maddening, and hilarious-sometimes all at once.

In I Married My Mother-in-law and Other Tales of In-laws We Can't Live With-and Can't Live Without, Ilena Silverman brings together seventeen writers who plumb their individual in-law experiences for extraordinary and unexpected wisdom about this uninvited and intense relationship. We hear from a variety of writers, including Michael Chabon, who writes movingly about what he learned from his ex-wife's father; Kathryn Harrison, whose relationship with her father-in-law was more rewarding and less complicated than the one she had with her own father; Martha McPhee, who explores the role that money plays in the in-law dynamic; Susan Straight, who recounts her experience as the first white woman who married into her husband's African-American family; and Ayelet Waldman, who ponders the competition between wives and mothers for the attention of their husbands/sons.

By turns blunt and poignant, horrifying and touching, these essays are small mirrors that reflect some of the myriad aspects of this bewildering and complex relationship. Remarkable for both the quality of its prose and the scope of its emotional insight, I Married My Mother-in-law is an unforgettable anthology about an inescapable family relationship.

Contributors:

Matt Bai
AmyBloom
Michael Chabon
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Anthony Giardina
Jonathan Goldstein
Colin Harrison
Kathryn Harrison
Barbara Jones
Tom Junod
Karen Karbo
Martha McPhee
Peter Richmond
Dani Shapiro
Darcey Steinke
Susan Straight
Ayelet Waldman

The New York Times - Pamela Paul

…there's a formulaic diversity to therapeutic anthologies like this one—a kind of something-for-everyone-ness, whatever your sociopolitical identity or emotional sore spot. We've got the lesbian daughter-in-law, the interracial couple, the clash of classes. There's the cross-cultural barrier, the political rift, the early misunderstanding since overcome. The ideal in-laws, the terminally ill in-laws, the downright crazies. Still, Silverman doesn't rely on vinegary screeds, and that makes the book especially worthwhile. Many of the relationships described are affectionate, some even loving. In-laws are, after all, our half-chosen families—the source, and often reflection or amplification, of those we love.

Publishers Weekly

In spite of its funny title and occasional humor, this anthology of in-law stories is quite serious. For every gleeful in-law basher (e.g., Ayelet Waldman, acknowledging what a bad mother-in-law she intends to be; and Amy Bloom, cheerfully explaining why she hates her partner's parents), there's a strong representation of in-law lovers. There's Martha McPhee, who wishes hers hadn't died before she'd known them; Peter Richmond, who came to know his wife better by knowing her mother; and Barbara Jones, who realized her tyrannical father-in-law regretted his poor parenting and was actually a devoted grandfather. For many, having in-laws from another culture-Jewish, Japanese, African-American-is unexpectedly rewarding. In-laws often don't respect boundaries, but sometimes they're beloved precisely because they're emotional and overinvolved-people can be attracted to the parents they never had. Indeed, some in-laws become dear in spite of the trouble they cause, as in Colin Harrison's luminous account of caring for wife Kathryn's grandmother. While there's a lot of death in this collection-people seem to experience in-laws mostly in their passing-there's wit, wisdom and great writing, too. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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