Short Synopsis
In the tradition of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking comes a poignant memoir about a marriage that was as deep and strong as it was mysterious and complex.

Full Synopsis
Upton and Sally Brady were a rare breed: cultivated and elegant, they lived a life of literary glamour and high expectations. Sally a debutante, Upton a classics major from Harvard, they met at the Boston Cotillion. He was articulate, witty, and worldly, and he danced like Fred Astaire. How could she resist? Despite raising four children on Upton's modest wage as editor in chief of the Atlantic Monthly Press, theirs was a world of champagne, sailboats, private islands, famous writers, family rituals, and ice-cold martinis. They lived life on their terms. But as time wore on, Upton, the charming and brilliant husband, the inventive, beguiling partner, grew opinionated, cranky, controlling, and dangerous.

When Upton died suddenly one evening in their Vermont cottage, Sally began uncovering secrets. As she went through his papers, she discovered that her husband of forty-six years had desired the love of other men. Her riveting, charismatic husband was not quite the man he appeared to be, and a year of mourning became for Sally a time to unravel the dark and unexpected web he had left behind. Hers is a moving and powerful story of coming to terms with what cannot be changed. It is also a story of great love.

"[A] remarkably candid memoir . . . convincingly read . . . by Joyce Bean." ---BookPage

"Brady's engrossing chronicle of how she faced both the facts and mysteries of her husband's concealed homosexuality offers generous and enlightening testimony to the true meaning of love." ---Booklist

"This is one of the most graceful and moving memoirs of marriage I've ever read." ---John Sedgwick, author of In My Blood

"Buy two copies---one for yourself and one for your best friend." ---Leslie Morgan Steiner, author of Crazy Love

"Sally Brady paints a fascinating and touching portrait of a long but difficult marriage.... This is a brave book." ---Mameve Medwed, author of How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life

"Brady's lively and candid memoir reminds us that long marriages are not always tranquil, and that sometimes their longevity both amazes and charms." ---C. Michael Curtis, senior editor, The Atlantic Monthly

"Bittersweet memoir of a highly stressed marriage that somehow endured for nearly half a century." ---Kirkus

"In this well-written and moving book, Brady forthrightly communicates a variety of feelings: self-pity, but also fear, confusion, anger, pride, regret and abundant tenderness." ---The New York Times

"Highly recommended, especially for fans of memoir and LGBT literature." ---Library Journal

"Her memoir is as searing and tender as the life she describes." ---Publishers Weekly