Isabel Gillies had a wonderful life—a handsome, intelligent, loving husband who was a professor; two glorious toddlers; a beautiful house in...
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Dec 19, 2008
eb
rated it: 
Gillies seems like a sweetheart. She can't write worth a damn, and this books reads like a series of hastily tossed off emails, but that's part of its charm. You feel you're eavesdropping on someone's unpolished, gossipy account of a run-of-the-mill divorce.
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Apr 22, 2009
Vicki
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I was very tired at work because I stayed up too late reading this book. The writing isn't great, but for some reason the book just grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I felt so much sympathy for the author, and believed that I understood what she was going through. I've read comments that said reading this is like watching a train wreck, and I think that's true. You don't want to watch, but you can't help yourself. The fact that the book takes place mostly in Oberlin made it more interesting,
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Apr 01, 2009
I could not put this book down. Buy it..you will not be dissapointed. Isabel Gillies starts by saying she is not a writer, but writes good emails. The story unfolds as if told to a confidant, and there are plenty of twists and turns that keep the story interesting. As a once divoriced mother of 2 small boys, I could relate completely to her fear and heartbreak, but also her steely will to continue on in life cheerfully and hopefully. This is a great read for anyone who is going thru or has gone
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Jun 23, 2009
Kirsti
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I read a couple of reviews of this that basically described it as "prom queen chats with you at the high-school reunion, has one too many margaritas, and reveals that her life has gone to shit." So of course I had to read it.
The author is a successful actress who gave up her career because her husband snagged a professorship at a small, elite college in a rural area. The husband abruptly dumped her for another professor, leaving her in the lurch with two small children.
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The author is a successful actress who gave up her career because her husband snagged a professorship at a small, elite college in a rural area. The husband abruptly dumped her for another professor, leaving her in the lurch with two small children.
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Mar 24, 2009
Danielle
rated it: 
Not the best writing ever, but Gillies is not a writer by trade. She is, in fact, the actress who plays Detective Stabler's wife on Law and Order:SVU. I picked up this book because I'm a fan of the show and about to get married, and thus reading lots of things about marriage. Again, while the writing is not technically fabulous, Gillies describes her thoughts, feelings, and surroundings in a really evocative way. This book is a fascinating look at a marriage falling apart. I really enjoyed it.
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Apr 23, 2009
Allison
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Surprisingly moving, a very interesting portrait of academic life, and when you put it down, the realization of a very subtle revenge.
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Jan 20, 2012
Sharla
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Absolutely loved this book. Not necessarily because it was an amazing story, or spectacular writing, but it resonated in a way I can't describe with words. It was like reliving my own unexpected, uncontrollable implosion of a seemingly "perfect" marriage. Gillies went through the same frenetic, yet impossibly sad rollercoaster of oscillating between disbelief, panic, fear, confusion, anger, and reluctant acceptance. It's like she put a voice to the madness that entered my life thre
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Oct 03, 2011
Jaime
rated it:
Whenever you are reviewing a biographical book, there is always a niggle in the back of your mind that you are judging someone’s life, someone’s experiences. If you have anything bad to say, it’s so much easier for the author to take it personally. However, in this review, Ms. Gillies has absolutely nothing to worry about.
When I read Isabel’s biography in the back, I read that she is now living with her second husband, so I knew all along she wouldn’t be able to save her marriage. Ev More...
When I read Isabel’s biography in the back, I read that she is now living with her second husband, so I knew all along she wouldn’t be able to save her marriage. Ev More...
Sep 07, 2011
Becky
rated it: 
A memoir about the demise of a "perfect" marriage. On one hand, I found the book very readable and intriguing in a gossipy sort of way. On the other hand, the author really, really annoyed me. While I'm sorry that her marriage ended, I really couldn't feel a huge degree of sympathy for Ms. Gillies. Aside from her divorce, she's led a very priviledged, WASP-y life (growing up upper middle class in NYC, summers spent at the family home in Maine, loving parents, intact family, etc.). Ms.
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Jul 23, 2011
Jen
rated it:
Well, as advertised on the cover, I did indeed stay up all night to finish this memoir. Gillies tells a whopper of a story--her super-hot, super adoring poetry professor hubby leaves her almost completely out of the blue for a colleague he's known for 30 seconds. He is, quite simply, a total loser with a messed-up head. But Gillies takes the high road, saying she'd rather light a candle than wallow in the dark or something like that. And I mostly applaud her for that because she has young childr
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Feb 21, 2011
Mary Ronan
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This heartbreaking book is about a happy family. They have recently moved to Oberlin, Ohio, where the husband, Josiah, has landed a teaching job, and they’ve bought their first house and decorated it with bright light colors and William Morris wallpaper. The wife, Isobel, who also has a job teaching acting at Oberlin, comes home one day with their two little boys and finds Josiah hanging photos from both sides of the family on every inch of the walls of the bathroom. She is touched at his displa
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Feb 06, 2011
Paul
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This is another author in a long list of "memoirs" that have come out over the last two years. This is the story of Isabel Gillies, her husband Josiah, and their two sons, Wallace and James. Isabel is probably best known for her recurring television role as Detective Stabler's wife on "Law and Order" Special Victims Unit".
Isabel met Josiah in New York where she was working as and actress, and he was teaching. Josiah was offered a job at Oberlin College in More...
Isabel met Josiah in New York where she was working as and actress, and he was teaching. Josiah was offered a job at Oberlin College in More...
Sep 24, 2010
Jon
rated it:
The story of the breakup of a "perfect" marriage written by the wife, Isabel, with striking candor and an amazing ability to transcend her anger and bewilderment. It's the bewilderment that stuck with me: her description of being blindsided by the sudden destruction of her whole life was truly unforgettable. My wife read the book just before I did, and she had no hesitation in laying blame on the husband and his coldly calculating new lover. That's certainly a possible reading, but I f
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Jul 27, 2010
Sara
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For some reason, I like sad books. I guess it's a good reminder that life isn't really all THAT bad and that there is always someone else who is struggling more than me? I dunno, but I'm drawn to them. Regardless, this book captivated me.
Gillies isn't the BEST writer that I've ever read, but she tells an honest story and you feel like you're talking to a friend. Her story made me laugh, made my heart ache and left me cheering for her to have a happy ending in spite of her story th More...
Gillies isn't the BEST writer that I've ever read, but she tells an honest story and you feel like you're talking to a friend. Her story made me laugh, made my heart ache and left me cheering for her to have a happy ending in spite of her story th More...
May 09, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
Very readable memoir about the breakdown of a marriage. (Isabel, her husband and their two children buy a house in Ohio. Nine months later, their marriage is over and he's with another woman.)
We learn early on that the story doesn't end well and that her husband (she changes his name, but you can find out what it really is with very little effort) has been married before--he left his first wife when she was pregnant for another woman--not Isabel. (How surprising that he leaves Isa More...
We learn early on that the story doesn't end well and that her husband (she changes his name, but you can find out what it really is with very little effort) has been married before--he left his first wife when she was pregnant for another woman--not Isabel. (How surprising that he leaves Isa More...
Mar 26, 2010
Joan
rated it:
A readable tale of a marital breakup. Gillies is an actress who married a poet and academic. They had two children and she believed they were happy. but the happiness was apparently on her terms. Her husband deserted her for a fellow academic (this was his second marriage,he had left his first wife during her pegnancy). Gillies points out that while on the surface their marriage seemed sound, her husband never truly opened his heart to her--for instance only one time did he read her one of his m
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Feb 19, 2010
Lori
rated it:
I'm a little ashamed of myself for finishing this book, because it was really awful in every way. Isabel Gilles chronicles the sudden unraveling of her marriage when her husband decides he doesn't love her anymore and wants out, all the while denying the affair Isabel suspects him of having with a colleague.
Gilles states right at the beginning that she is not a writer, and she is correct. She writes like she is chatting with a girlfriend on the phone while being distracted by her t More...
Gilles states right at the beginning that she is not a writer, and she is correct. She writes like she is chatting with a girlfriend on the phone while being distracted by her t More...
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Oct 29, 2009
Stefani
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The book was terrible, don't let anyone tell you differently. I found the writing to be amateurish at best, the endless references to WASPy catch-phrases like "Cooo Cooo" and "Patati-Patata" to be gag-inducing, and the privileged tone of the author to be patronizing to those of us who are not familiar with Lulu DK fabric or the importance of fresh flowers. For the love of God, I really don't give a shit that your grandfather wrote letters to John Cheever as the voice of a dog
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Aug 19, 2009
Sonia
rated it:
Haha, just blew through this one on this hot afternoon in Sellwood (in the library and the nearby cafe) when I should be working on other things. The writing is pretty bad, and after the first few pages I wondered if I would be able to get through, but (as suspected) familiarity with the people involved (two degrees of separation) and a dark fascination (ok, and some familiarity) with the seedy side of liberal arts faculty got me through it. I actually liked her comments on teaching and the ac
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Aug 17, 2009
Callie
rated it:
She is not a quote unquote writer, but in some ways that is refreshing. Her style is very unaffected and flows along and pulls you right along, too. I read this book in about two sittings. It's just a story about a marriage breaking up b/c of an affair and I don't know that she says anything profound or that her experience is much different than others. Here are some quotes from it. She's funny a lot:
"I wish I were the confident, cool person who can handle women from the past in More...
"I wish I were the confident, cool person who can handle women from the past in More...
Jun 15, 2009
Sigh... When I first bought this book, actually because of the cover and I found the title compelling, I tried to read it but was put off by the writing. This weekend though, without the option of popping on the TV Saturday morning (I like a couple shows), since I no longer receive a signal, I woke up and stared at the double pile of newish books on a side table of a chair. I went over and picked this one out from the piles and started reading. A few paragraphs churned my stomach, but the
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Jun 10, 2009
Phoebe
rated it:
I read this book and only one word can describe this book: OUCH. The author Isabel Gillies describes in brutally honest detail the demise of her marriage to a college professor. She appeared to have the perfect life: handsome, brilliant husband, two beautiful boys, a beautiful old house and the good life in a small college town. Into the picture comes a new female professor in her husband's department whom Ms Gillies embraces as a new found friend and within 6 weeks, her marriage is destroye
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May 31, 2009
Kevin
rated it:
Although the librarian who signed out this book for me called the writing abominable and the treatment voyeuristic, I found the memoir very compelling and honest. I didn't expect great writing, but what I found was perfectly adequate. I expected to find some factual errors about Oberlin, but the few I found were inconsequential.
What I didn't expect was the clarity of feelings and the sense of hopelessness that engulfed Isabel when it became apparent that Josiah was not going to change More...
What I didn't expect was the clarity of feelings and the sense of hopelessness that engulfed Isabel when it became apparent that Josiah was not going to change More...
May 28, 2009
So this is progress, I'm ready to read a book about Divorce. One that doesn't just skirt the issue - but GOES THERE, you know? Kinda helps me sort it all through.
People/authors are so afraid to talk about it, afraid to incriminate the other party {which the author doesn't do, so far}, afraid to own their own and afraid their friends won't be right there at their side. And you know what - sometimes friends aren't, and sometimes people disappoint you - and sometimes Divorce happens. And More...
People/authors are so afraid to talk about it, afraid to incriminate the other party {which the author doesn't do, so far}, afraid to own their own and afraid their friends won't be right there at their side. And you know what - sometimes friends aren't, and sometimes people disappoint you - and sometimes Divorce happens. And More...
May 26, 2009
Felicity
rated it:
This is not a story with a happy ending. You know that from the very beginning, so I'm not spoiling anything. It's a story about a marriage bust-up, with kids and all. There's nothing cheery about it. Neither of the parties involved come out looking particularly good. He did end up leaving his wife for another woman, but even she seems equivocal (at least in my view) about the extent to which something was actually going as the marriage fell apart. Then again, maybe it's because she never
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May 26, 2009
Sara
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“I’m not a writer but I have been told I write good emails, which has led me to…tell this story.” Isabel Gillies is correct, she is not a writer, and It Happens Every Day is pieced together like a long email—conversationally. Her style is an effective illusion of girl talk that allows her to express the disappointment she felt while her marriage to a college poetry professor collapsed. Her story of betrayal is a nightmare for any wife, and many pages are read in absolute dread of the known ou
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May 26, 2009
Amanda
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Gillies crafts a riveting memoir about the unraveling of her life as a faculty wife at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. Maybe it's because I work at a small college extremely similar to Oberlin, but this was one juicy read. She is married to "Josiah," a poetry scholar who moves the family (they have two young sons) to Oberlin from the East Coast. (Isabel left a recurring role on the TV show "Law and Order.") They settle in, buy a beautiful old home, make friends with other pro
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May 20, 2009
Ellen
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I see a couple of other brave individuals down there who went out on a limb to give this book a five-star rating, although I note that the vast majority of reviewers took Isabel Gillies to task for her inability to write. I must say I do not agree. I find this author/actress's style perfectly detailed and immensely readable. At her best, Gillies reminds me of Suzanne Finnamore on a softer, gentler day. She does make writing look easy, though, and I did finish the book feeling that Isable and
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May 17, 2009
Rhonda
rated it:
This is a true story by the actress who played Detective Stabler's wife on Law & Order:Special Victims Unit.
Married, with two sons, she moves from NYC to the a very small college town in Ohio after her husband got a teaching job there. He almost immediately falls for another teacher, one of her best friends. She doesn't whine, but tells the story of how she just couldn't accept what was happening, how she didn't see the signs. I just wanted to shake her and tell her it REALLY was More...
Married, with two sons, she moves from NYC to the a very small college town in Ohio after her husband got a teaching job there. He almost immediately falls for another teacher, one of her best friends. She doesn't whine, but tells the story of how she just couldn't accept what was happening, how she didn't see the signs. I just wanted to shake her and tell her it REALLY was More...
May 10, 2009
Janet
rated it:
I started reading this book as I was waiting for my chocolate banana vivanno (BTW terrific marketing gimmick, Starbucks!). I was on page 50 by the time I chugged down the last of it and then stood in line for another 10 minutes to buy it because I was by then hooked. Based on Tolstoy's observation that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" Gillies' family is so golden and so perfect that even the most unperceptive person would recognize that a
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