A unique collection of essays. I find most memoirs interesting and Nancy McGabe definitely has a way with words. I found the format and "pop quizzes" a bit weird.

A very personal story, a good look at human nature and how decisions we make influence our future until we decide to undo a decision.

Nancy McCabe, a professor of writing at the University of Pittsburgh (Bradford Campus) presents a poignant series of essays remembering her childhood and her ill advised early marriage. Using several writing styles, including an essays previously published in some literary reviews, the reflections help both the reader and the author assess how incidents in childhood become markers for in our adult lives. McCabe is a polished author, having won several awards for her non fiction. Her detached tone helps the reader find compassion, as she shares the most intimate sorrows of her life.
Emerging from regret to release, the book ends in triumph. An encouraging read.

Recommended for young adults and readers who enjoy creative non fiction.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed "Can This Marriage Be Saved" , however, it's not ky kind of book, in that, I have to admit that I won't ever read it again.
It was a great experience to her journey through words. But I won't be saying that it's a must read for everyone.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I found this book a bit slow moving in parts although I enjoyed having a look at another person’s life and their views.

This book did teach me what a Tom Swiftie joke was! I thought the title and cover was cute but the reference is very dated, not sure how that is going to sell to younger people. I'm 41 and remember reading that column in my mom's magazines as a kid in the '80s and '90s but anyone younger than me (or my age and read more age-appropriate publications!) probably would not.

I liked the collection of essays.. They really did remind me of that heyday of women's magazine writing.

It is an honest, insightful rendering of how she came to be the person she was at the time of her wedding. She recounts, in stunning detail, events that shaped her childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood leading up to a relationship that culminated in marriage.

Although, Can This marriage Be Saved, Is deeply personal to the author’s experience, the premise is applicable to all of us. What leads up to the relationships that we are in and what events shape the person that we become? What happens to relationships when a person continues to develop and mature and the spouse does not? What then becomes of the relationship? Again, in vivid detail, Nancy describes the subtle events that eventually lead to the dissolution of the marriage.

The context of the story is set in the background of a culture that supports and nurtures lasting marriages at all costs. Nancy examines the introspection and efforts that are needed to not only hold the marriage together, but to let it go.

An honest open memoir the author shares with us her first marriage that was a big mistake.Warm real honest with humor and warmth.Really enjoyed .#netgalley#canthismarriagebesaved,

When I saw the title of this book Can this Marriage be Saved? I knew I had to read it, (not to mention I loved the cover) not because I am having marriage trouble rather because it reminded me of the magazine articles of the same name which I loved reading.
This however is not a bunch of articles put together and learning how to solve them, the title and the book really do not coincide. The book cover also does not match the book.
This is the honest and often funny memoir of Nancy McCabe. She gives a very good timetable of her life, her marriage the decisions she made, really letting the readers in. I liked the concept of expectations versus what she really wanted and how it would affect today’s society. Perhaps young readers can learn from her.

Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book will probably reflect a large group of its readers. It is the story of a young woman who did what many many of the young women did at the time--get married and then say "now what?". Nancy tells her story--of how she thought there may be sometthing wrong with her, there was no fairy tale, no magic, but yet she persisted to try to make it work. She tried many ways to make it work, but then, in the end, it ended--just as many marriages did and still do. Nancy and Marc are not celebritys, nor are they Nobel Prize winning scientists, which makes their story so real--they are real people, just like me and that is why this book is so real.

* I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review *

Oh, man, I worry about the marketing for this book (since in addition to reviewing books, marketing is my professional field.) There are two BIG obstacles this book will need to clear and I *really* worry abut its ability to clear those obstacles and actually be found and appreciated for its artistic value. Let's address the obstacles first, before talking about the book content.

OBSTACLE #1 -- The Title. There are going to be a lot of readers who feel like the title is a "bait and switch" or otherwise misleading. The title implies that it's a self-help book. Unfortunately, the women's magazine column the writer references in the title is very dated (I'm a reader in my 40s, and that column is only vaguely familiar in my memories.) A Millennial or Gen Z reader (for whom this book is arguably MORE helpful for -- as they too might be in danger of selling themselves short in a poorly suited marriage) are very unlikely to know this reference. I've already seen a few reviews that note that the title doesn't really describe what the book is about. I kind of wish that the writer had called it "Rough Drafts" or something similar to that, since most of the threaded essays deal with insecurity, false starts, and selling yourself short. Hopefully there's time to reconsider the title -- if not, I definitely think the title will be working against the book, which is a shame.

OBSTACLE #2 -- The Cover Art. Its a cool cover -- just not for THIS book. Again, I get it, it's supposed to reference the old women's magazines of the 70's (or Katy Keene?) but it's just not the right cover for the book. It doesn't match the tone, voice, or overall theme of the essays inside. I hope there's time enough to reconsider that, too.

The book itself: I love memoirs in essay form that each utilize a different, related conceit to tell the story (in a way, this memoir reminded me a little like Tabitha Blankenbiller's Eats of Eden). Though we're about 15 years apart in age and grew up in different regions, I myself identified with many of Nancy's missteps, marrying too young because of a teenage heartbreak and losing a significant number of years struggling to find my worth in a loveless marriage, finding myself in an MFA writing program as a last-ditch resort to rediscover the me in me. I think that this experience is not unique, especially for girls who grow up in rural or semi-rural, God-loving communities where there are different expectations placed on women and where there are fewer options open (or encouraged.) For most of the memoir, the different themes of the threaded essays worked. The women's magazine quizzes, (one of which I remember reading in an online lit mag a few years back!), the Tom Swifties, the Garden of Earthly Delights, etc. I'll admit that the Bible study ones went on a bit too long for my taste and there were a few that I felt could have been cut. Honestly, the one most memorable is the one about "In the beginning there was the Word" -- that was powerful enough to be the singular Bible study chapter and I don't think that the memoir would have suffered from a closer edit of that section.

There were definitely times and gaps where I felt the author could have gone deeper, and I wish that she had. The end of the marriage comes on abruptly and only skims the surface, so the last section feels a little rushed, compared to the chapters that precede it. Overall, the memoir does a very good job of keeping the timeline stable, or letting the reader know when we're jumping forward, or backward, which I appreciated.

The only reason I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is the above mentioned obstacles that I hope can be re-directed before an official release, a weird formatting issue (especially at the start of new sections) with capital T's showing up in strange places, and the fact that the last section felt rushed, ending on a vignette that didn't really feel like an ending point for me. I would have loved for her to revisit the moon theme that is threaded through the narrative, or to take us back to a different point in time. The struggling against the wind just didn't feel like the resonant note that I wanted this memoir to end on. However, the rest of it was a really enjoyable, if sad, read that brought back a lot of personal memories and made my similar experience seem like less of a mistake that I made, and more like a mistake that cultural conditioning helped me make. And, as Nancy writes so eloquently, "Stories can be revised and rewritten."

While I enjoyed many parts of "Can This Marriage Be Saved", I have to admit that I won't ever read it again. I just kept expecting the character to grow/change throughout her journey - but instead, she only really sorta changes in the final papers of the book.

That said, it's interesting how the caller can now look back on her life with new perspective. It's a nice reminder to all of us to be kinder to our past selves.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this one - I appreciated the reminder to be kinder to the 20yr old version of me!

This is such a fun and quick read. I finished this in one day! It is a cross between a memoir and a self-help book. Nancy brings such a relatable topic but also brings a heartfelt and light approach to what can often be a heavy topic. I highly recommend this book!

This is a heck of a good memoir about (un)happiness is relationships and marriage.

While Nancy McCabe's book is for sure more of a memoir than a self-help publication, her writing style made it feel like one. Her experiences, although unique and deeply personal, felt oddly familiar to me as I saw myself in so much of her story.

I think it's a true gift to write a memoir which makes the readers feel almost like they went through these experiences with her. McCabe explores her marriage and various decisions she made, even though many were against herself. She also explores being a woman is today's society and the meaning of a good marriage and happiness. The weight of expectations is also heavy on the pages.

I'd highly recommend this book to people who have ever been unsure of their relationships and want to reflect on their own life by listening to someone else's story.

*Thank you to the Publisher for. Agree advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. I expected a semi-autobiographical self-help book. Maybe a light-hearted one because of the cover. Fortunately, my expectations are wrong. This book focuses on the author asking herself the hard questions. How she just coasted through life although she was unhappy. You can tell this book is written after years of therapy. What I like most of all is her writing style.
PS. The cover is weird and doesn't suit the book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

The title caught my eye because I used to read those articles in Ladies Home Journal many years ago. I've read McCabe's other books. This one is sad. She pines for her high school boyfriend and marries a man she doesn't love. She talks about her youth and feelings that led her to settle in a marriage she knew wasn't right even before the wedding. I could relate to many of her sentiments. Reading this was a travel back in time to more archaic conventions and habits.

Always hope in memoirs that there is an update or what's life like now moment. I was hoping for a semblance of happiness in this book. There seemed to be none. Should have skipped this one.

Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.