Allison Raskin's second nonfiction book, I Do (I Think), examines the complexities of 21st-century marriage in Western society: shifting gender roles, the rise in cohabitation by unmarried couples, tricky financial questions, even the looming specter of divorce. Mixing personal experience and interviews with experts such as therapists and lawyers, Raskin argues that marriage is still important to modern life. Although its weight in society may be changing, that weight is still considerable.
Engaged twice and married once, Raskin (Overthinking About You) had long viewed marriage as a personal goal. Although she shares anecdotes from her own history, she also explores why certain ideas about marriage have dominated Western narratives about family life, financial security, and love. Modern marriage is increasingly (though not endlessly) adaptable to different couples' wants and needs: Raskin explores creative divisions of household labor, various ways to combine (or not) one's finances with a spouse, and the reasons that, despite commitment phobia and myriad other challenges, people of all stripes still choose to get married. She analyzes the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on marriage rates, highlights the legal benefits and drawbacks of marriage versus domestic partnership, and unequivocally recommends couples therapy, especially to anxious people like herself. Along the way, she shares insights from people at many different stages of marriage, including those who've married more than once and even a few divorce attorneys who still believe in marriage.
Well researched and thoughtful, Raskin's book provides a wryly humorous perspective on whether and why marriage is still an appealing life choice. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams