Dearly Beloved

Unlike any book I've ever read, this entire novel takes place within the space of a few hours as family members and wedding guests examine their own thoughts about marriage, love, relationships, families, children, and life itself while they witness the wedding of Sally and Mark. Beginning with Deborah, the mother of the bride, and ending with her father Theodore, all of the musings give the reader much to ponder as they consider their own life choices. While I'd like to say this was a happy, uplifting book, I cannot; the subject matter was too deep and serious for that. At the same time, Lindbergh manages to cast a feeling of optimism throughout the chapters, especially when the grandfather talks about "the stream" and his love for Suzannah. Beatrice and Pierre give us hope that love can and does happen, Don fills the reader with disillusionment, and Frances makes us feel sad. For a serious book about marriage and all that it entails, this is a must.

My introduction to Anne Morrow Lindbergh was through "Gift from the Sea," a life-changing classic that I treasure and give as gifts to friends every year. "Dearly Beloved" is a meditation on marriage as well as a novel told by various characters attending a wedding. It takes place in one day, as the bride and groom and their families gather in the bride's home for the ceremony and reception. It is not sugar-coated. Here is a realistic view of the pains and pleasures of this complicated sacrament we call marriage. I couldn't put the book down and read it start to finish in one night. I sensed Lindbergh's own conflicts about her difficult marriage to her famous husband, plus her feminist philosophies glimmer throughout the stories and are remarkably ahead of their time. (This novel was written in the 1960s.) It was moving, sad, wise, inspiring, uplifting, infuriating and more -- like marriage itself -- and should be read by anyone who's newly engaged or even thinking about getting married.