This is not a bad book but it's not a good or great book either. The writing is competent. There are some nice sentences and moments throughout and with a great editor, this book could become so much more. There's not enough that makes this book special or inspired. It's a novel in stories about a couple struggling the way many couples do--infidelity, infertility, ennui. There are family tensions between a mother and daughter. Etc etc etc. There's nothing in this collection we haven't seen before. We cannot simply be impressed because the writer is a celebrity and has a solid command of the English language. I am a big fan of Ringwald and admire the ambition in this book but it fell completely flat for me. And again, the book is in need of serious editing both in terms of copy editing and developmental editing. There are many, many places where the prose would be stronger if the phrasing was leaner. Ultimately, do we need another book about a family in ordinary circumstances? Maybe, but this isn't that book.