Mr. Wrong: Real-Life Stories about the Men We Used to Love

This book has it all - humor, pathos, entertainment. Some excellent writers have found the courage to share the tales of love-life mistakes they have made in a way that enriches us all. Some stories made me laugh, and one or two came so close to my own history that it was like seeing myself through a different set of eyes. Joyce Maynard's touching "Your Friend Always" had the power to make me read through it three times, seeing different things in it each time. Pick this book up and read it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this diverse collection of true tales, masterfully strung together to maintain its momentum--and to keep me reading one after another. The title proved a good hook, but once inside, I found very little gender-fueled smugness. The stories are filled with all-too-human love seekers, both male and female. Some of these real-life chapters are far different from my own experiences (or am I repressing?), yet I felt an immediate kinship with these women (and man). And tremendous empathy with some of the male partners. I was also amazed at the candor of the contributors (apart from disguising some names of their subjects, which was to be expected). Several of them are well-known writers, who clearly did not give their contributions short shrift. To the credit of the editor, perhaps, there was a satisfying absence of lightweight sentimentality. I found the stories engaging, funny, frightening, sad, cynical, or just plain out-there, but they all had substance and ultimately were very believable. I want to give everyone a copy of this next Christmas!

I think I've dated a number of these guys! Oh, dear. These stories are in turns: funny, scary, endearing, and way too close to home. Far from man-bashing, these essays say as much about us as they do about them. An excellent read, smartly edited, with something for every Ms. Right. Give this book to a friend when they break up with a lout. Give it as a parting gift to your own louts. Make it a book club book for a full night of laughter and confession. And if the groom really is Mr. Right, this is, perhaps, the ideal wedding shower gift.

When Mr. Wrong crossed my desk, I didn't want to read it. Perhaps because I'm pretty tired of celebrity (I include authors in this category) tell-all books. I really don't want to know the intimate details of other people's love lives. The real reason probably is because I've had a number of Mr. Wrongs litter the landscape of my life--and I didn't want to remember any of them. But, I thought I'd give the book a try. When I next looked at the clock two hours had flown by. Two hours! Mr. Wrong is every woman's story. We've all searched for Prince Charming only to learn that the bad boys, mama's boys, the mean-spirited boys, the emotionally needy boys, or perhaps the addicted to infidelity boys, were what landed at our front door. The stories by writers, Jane Smiley, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Marge Piercy, Roxana Robinson (one of my favorite writers), Ntozake Shange and many more, provide a glimpse of their lives and remind us that we've all 'been there.' I found myself laughing, uttering silent obscenities, remembering some of my own horror stories and realizing that the book has a message. The message will be different for every woman that reads it. But there is something comforting in knowing that all of us have had horrible relationships. It's the tie that binds us together. Armchair Interviews says: The stories are intriguing, informative, poignant and funny. It's worth a read.

Reading the real-life stories in this collection is like sitting down with your closest girlfriends and sharing your experiences in bad relationships. I say "sharing" because my guess is that nearly every woman reading it will strongly identify with at least one author's experience. You find yourself nodding and thinking things like, "That's MY ex, exactly!" These tales run the gamut from hilarious ("I Married a Wanker!") to chilling (do not skip Joyce Maynard). As a whole, the collection prompts us to wonder: Why do we women so often enter relationships that we know are bad for us? These authors ask themselves that very question, and offer illuminating, engaging, and unsparingly honest attempts at an answer.