Mr. Wrong
by Harriet Brown, Editor
Published by Ballantine Books
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
Subtitled: Real Life Stories About the Men We Used to Love
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.