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Can't Think Straight: A Memoir of Mixed-Up Love
After realizing her 10-year relationship with her fianc was built on lies, Blakeley embarked on a deeply emotional and physical journey from disbelief and debauchery to independence and insight.
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
January 1st 2011
by Citadel
(first published December 15th 2010)
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I picked up this book after seeing it on the today show and read it straight through in almost one night. I'm baffled by the puritanical responses on here saying the author writes about casual sex and sorts. From what I can tell, she dates several men, and sleeps with about three, and this happens over a year. and those relationships were relationships, not really casual. For me, living in LA, I know women in their 20s and 30s who do this in one week! For anyone who has ever watched Sex and the...more
As another reader/reviewer has mentioned, I am also shocked at the criticisms that Miss Blakeley has received in the reviews listed here. Not everyone shares the same views on relationships/sex/marriage, but that is no reason to look down on someone for doing the exact thing that most women do during college, just a few years later. I have often contemplated whether it would be worse to loose a significant other to a member of the same sex or to loose a significant other to a member of the oppos...more
“Can’t Think Straight” chronicles Kiri Blakeley’s trajectory from a secure monogamous engagement to the treacherous singles scene of New York, after discovering her fiancé is gay. Blakeley is witty, raunchy and brutally honest and handles her situation with as much humor as can be mustered from a place of shock and devastation. Coupled with the blow of her break-up is the fact that she is still reeling from the premature death of her beloved 7-year old niece.
Adopting an unorthodox coping strateg...more
Adopting an unorthodox coping strateg...more
WOW...after reading this I cannot believe Kiri Blakeley would dare put her picture on the back of the book. It is a disgusting, torrid book about her sexual escapades after finding out that her long time boyfriend is gay. It sounds like it would be a laugh a minute, however it is so detailed with casual sex and so depressing in the whirlwind fall the author takes from reality that it is like watching a drug addict feed his addiction. To me there is no need for such a book to exist, it is not hum...more
Full disclosure: I read an advanced review copy of this book because I was asked to blurb the back cover. As an author who occasionally writes about her sex life, however, I paid close attention to how Blakeley wrote about hers. I was in awe of her ability to be frank without overdoing it. I was also in awe of her ability to portray the year of her life when she was at her worst--admittedly. It's not easy to write in first person (I know...), even when one is writing about one's virtues. Here Bl...more
A friend of mine recommended Can't Think Straight and I picked it up over the weekend. Let's just say I couldn't put it down! It's one of those books that comes along every few years or so that just captivates you. I was in what I thought was a healthy relationship for five years only to find out my man was cheating on me. Not with guys like in the author's case but with women. I could still relate though to what she was saying. Anyone who has ever been cheated on should read this book. Or pick...more
Sped through this one within a couple of days, but I REALLY hated her in the end. Please tell me she is not still with this god-awful man, James. Kiri, get into therapy and get away from this guy!
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I had been waiting to read this book ever since I saw a review of it online. Friends and I thought the story sounded so interesting, and horrible at the same time. The author, Kiri, writes about how her fiance, someone she had been with for 10 years, tells her he is gay. The rest of the book chronicles her life and how she goes about getting over that. The initial thought I had was: Wow, that is horrible. But I wasn't prepared for the whole book to be about her solely using sex to get over the e...more
This book was everything that "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" should have been (minus the Mennonite thing). And though it's not for everyone, I really enjoyed it. It was tough for me to read at times, finding myself relating to the main character is many ways, and it took me longer to read than it really should have. It's a quick read, but the author is very honest with her emotions & very honest about her relationship, her relationship's sex life & the aftermath of her break-up on h...more
In this often-humorous memoir, Kiri Blakeley explores both the aftermath of her ten-year relationship after her fiancé comes out as gay, as well as her emergence into a NYC dating world that is very different from the one she had encountered in her twenties. There is lots of drama here, from checking a lover’s text messages and online dating profile to figuring out whether she can, or even wants to, have casual sex. Blakeley also goes from anger at her fiancé to a friendship that evolves along w...more
A 36-year old woman is having dinner with hey boyfriend of 10 years when he announces he's gay. She undergoes the painful process of learning how to date now that all the rules have changed (texting is ubiquitous, facebook is confusing) and hilarity... sometimes ensues.
Since this is a biographical memoir, she tried to only include the interesting parts, which left a janky timeline and some head scratching. Also, in real life, sometimes it's the periods of quiet that lead to the greatest insight...more
Since this is a biographical memoir, she tried to only include the interesting parts, which left a janky timeline and some head scratching. Also, in real life, sometimes it's the periods of quiet that lead to the greatest insight...more
In an era of memoir with "Eat, Pray, Love" happy endings, Kiri Blakeley keeps it real. She reacts to her fiancees shocking news with booze, boys and humor instead of monastic deprivation and she survives with an existential ending. The book is incredibly well-written, and I hate to espouse cliche, but I literally could not put it down, as opposed to another book I had to review for work. I loved reading this book and found it life-affirming and uplifting. Blakeley is a survivor and deserves kudo...more
ugh. not what i was expecting. it sounded so good - a woman's fiancee (and boyfriend of ten years) comes out of the closet and breaks up with her and this book is how she dealt with the situation.
instead of dealing with the issue at hand she just creates more. and who the hell steals passwords and checks someone else's text messages? awful, awful, awful.
i don't know - it just wasn't for me at all.
instead of dealing with the issue at hand she just creates more. and who the hell steals passwords and checks someone else's text messages? awful, awful, awful.
i don't know - it just wasn't for me at all.
A great read. I could not put down the book. Looking forward to finding out what happens next. I'm hoping Kiri continues with the next chapter of her life. I loved the way the story was told. What happened was absolutely heartbreaking, but dealt with total honesty. This could have happened to any woman with any breakup. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Poorly written and just plain icky. This girl should have been on medication instead of running around town sleeping with every guy who gave her the time of day. Got so bored with all the random events I could barely finish it.
A great book that isn't only well written, but is an honest and refreshing accounting about a real life situation and exactly how it impacted and changed her life. A+++++ read!
Wow...dating in New York sounds downright exhausting! I never knew exactly what "playing games" meant in the context of romance and dating, but this book makes it abundantly clear.
Apr 28, 2011
Amanda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Any woman who has ever been in a strange relationship!
Even if you've never had a gay fiancé, Kiri Blakeley's book Can't Think Straight: A Memoir of Mixed Up Love will resonate. After being in a steady, predictable, ten-year relationship that women only dream of attaining, her fiancé confesses that he's gay, and Kiri is suddenly catapulted onto the New York City singles scene, a dating neophyte. Through drunken hookups, checking her lover's text messages, and wondering if every man she meets is gay, Blakeley turns every woman's worst nightmare into...more
Nov 13, 2011
Martha
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
autobiography-biography-memoir
Almost didn't finish this. The experiences this woman went through were heartwrenching (it's not a spoiler to say that her long-time boyfriend and fiance tells her he's gay), much of the book is tedious to read. A lot of it recounts alternately flirtatious and angry encounters, emails, text messages, and phone calls between the author and various men she hooks up with while she's working through the breakup. I guess I was hoping for more insight and reflection, which the book-jacket copy seemed...more
Because sometimes you just wanna read pointless psychobabble about someone else's messed up life for a change to distract you from your own messed up life...
Interesting and amusing but somethings are better left alluded too.
The author's dating experiences reminded me a lot of the way I acted when I was in my early 20s... except in the book, the author is in her mid-30s. I'm glad she finally came to the conclusion that it was OK to be alone, but halfway through the book she really started to get on my nerves. I mostly wanted to shake her and say "Ok, your boyfriend turned out to be gay, get over it."
Enjoyable quick read. I loved living this girls NYC sexcapades vicariously. Doesn't make me miss dating one iota! Definitely a few laugh out loud moments.
Jun 11, 2011
Cassie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-read-in-2011,
books-i-own
This book was good. I liked the concept of the story thats why I picked it up. Most importantly it was a true story :)
It is very interesting. The middle is kind of repeatative, but it an ok read.
Cute, funny, easy read!
May 22, 2013
Grace
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Nancy Sher malone
marked it as to-read
May 04, 2013
Libby
marked it as to-read
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