Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis

I'm a sucker for laugh-out-loud memoirs and this book is one of them. Marrying George Clooney, which reads a bit like a blog, is written by Amy Ferris who somehow manages to make the hell that is menopause funny. She has insomnia and most of the chapters were written at 3am when the rest of the neighborhood, including her husband, are sound asleep. And her mother has dementia, which is no laughing matter, except Ferris pulls it off anyway. While most of the people who can relate to this book would be midlife women who take care of their parents, Ferris' writing is poignant enough to pull in any member of the audience, whether young or male. She does not alienate; she sucks you in. And then makes you laugh. I could have done without the whole preface, though. Seven pages of blah, blah, blah that I didn't need to know and was misled into thinking the book was going to be a dud, because she doesn't turn it on until Chapter 1 on page 16. Also? She didn't need to change up the font all the time in order to emphasize what she was trying to say. Her writing was the most beautiful woman in the room who felt compelled to put on too much make-up when she could have arrived to the party clean-faced. Her use of language is gorgeous; the important lines stand out all by themselves and don't need any help. In other words, don't put A1 Steak Sauce or ketchup on that filet mignon; it's delicious just the way it is. But maybe that's just me and all those italic interruptions and ALL CAPS asides wouldn't bother you at all. I'm just barfing out my own opinion. Either way, I highly recommend this book for a touching and hilarious look at a midlife crisis. AAAAAAAND.....it's available on Kindle. Yay!

This week, "Marrying George Clooney: Confessions From a Midlife Crisis" by Amy Ferris, is hitting the bookstores. On the back will be my blurb of recommendation: "Amy Ferris has successfully combined a rip-roaringly funny page-turner, with an unvarnished account of the personal history that formed her. This gut-wrenching look at intimate relationships will resonate with readers because of the universality of its raw emotion, clarity of vision and self-revealing courage." Blurbs are relatively short, pithy comments on why a potential reader should pick up that particular book as opposed to the hundreds of others that are displayed besides it. It is an invitation. It also serves as a reference to those who have already taken the plunge, as they take a break from their reading to see if they are in sync with those who had the privilege of an advance look. In my case, not only did I get to peruse the manuscript in its final form, I also witnessed its birth and evolution. I met Amy Ferris at The Women's Media Center in 2005. We were part of the start-up team for a new venture founded by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan. The goal was to ensure that women were more "visible and powerful in the media." The two of us were quite vocal about how important women's cultural contributions were - a necessity to honestly reflect women's stories in our society. As we laughed at each other's jokes, which we considered über hilarious, we forged a friendship. Many of the issues we discussed in serious moments - family, relationships, and life changes - would find their way into Marrying George Clooney. Amy's writing voice is distinctive; first person conversational. In opening herself up to reveal her deepest thoughts and feelings with an audience beyond her personal friends, Amy's insights no longer remain within a small circle. They have been amplified to enfold others, in the way a wave encompasses the shore. Amy shares plenty...without reservation. The themes that I knew so well - her struggle with menopause, the shattering decline of her mother from dementia, her beloved husband Ken - were merged with new revelations about her past I had no knowledge of. It was a crash course in Amy. Some of it filled in the gaps that all relationships have, while adding a new depth of understanding. There is already talk of different iterations of the text being considered, from television to Broadway (I think she should put her foot down if there is a suggestion of a musical). Marrying George Clooney could very well become the quintessential book of the season. Speaking to those women born between the years of 1946 to 1964, it is poised to become a literary version of the 1970s Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. Amy and I have different lives. She has a husband, a home in Pennsylvania, and two cats. I have a teenage son, an apartment in New York City, and a dysfunctional dog. We both lost parents this year. She found out about her mother's

I'll be honest here - I haven't gone through menopause. I don't know what it's like to have insomnia (or how you could possibly manage to have insomnia AND write a novel as incredible as this). I haven't shared many of the experiences that Amy Ferris talks about in her book, Marrying George Clooney. But, regardless of that, I connected with this book on such a deep level. I got choked up, I laughed out loud, I set out to write my own novel, I read parts aloud to anyone who would listen... I LOVE this book. It's incredible to get to know someone on such a deeply personal level - let alone to reach that connection through a novel. But Amy lets us in on her secrets, shares her most joyful and sorrowful moments with us, and inspires us to get through those ups and downs with profound grace and humor.

The book is a delightful accounting of Amy Ferris's "insomnia-unduced thoughts and activities" that have become a nocturnal symptom of menopause. Knowing that insomnia has the potential to be a disastrous and dreaded occurrence, I'm amazed at Amy's ability to make me laugh, ponder and wonder how one woman's imagination can speak so clearly to the rest of us who are experiencing our own mid-life wanderings.

Marrying George Clooney is a hilarious look into the mind of Amy Ferris as she sits up at night, all night, night after night, passing the time between hot flashes with wild witty fantasies. Although this book appears to be marketed to women in midlife, I beg to differ, its a great read for all readers: my thirteen year old daughter stole my copy and I found her laughing out loud over the shoe-dating chapter.