HOW TO LIVE SEPARATELY TOGETHER: A Guide for Working Couples

by Richard K. Irish ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 1981

A great deal of nonsense about ""hanging tough"" in marriage and in life. Irish, a management consultant and self-styled ""people-watcher,"" asked hundreds of people their views on the two-paycheck marriage (or, as it's tastelessly dubbed here, ""money marriage""); separated his advice into two-dozen-or-so alphabetical entries (""Baby, to Have or Have Not""); and spiced up each entry by quoting his interviewees and then responding to each quote. This set-up not only tends to cast Irish as a second Socrates; it's a pretentious, annoying device with little practical justification here. The entries range from ""Caring Is Not to Worry"" to ""Interviewing (Myth and Fact),"" and the dominant note is ""freedom""--from guilt (which inhibits pleasure) and from excessive dependence on one's spouse. In the name of such freedom, some startling measures are advocated. Divorcing and want to know where the kids should live.9 ""Answer: ask the child."" Aiming to follow the paths of righteousness? ""Using no-no verbs like ought, should, and have to is thinking like an idiot."" But, amazingly: ""Tough love means we have someone to resent when our jobs turn sour and that our companion is tough enough to take it."" For freedom, sanity, and responsibility, stick with the likes of Caroline Bird's The Two-Paycheck Marriage.

Pub Date: March 6, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Anchor/Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1981

Categories: NONFICTION