Take My Husband
There's only one thing standing in the way of Laurel Applebaum's happiness. Doug Applebaum.
From the wickedly funny Ellen Meister comes a darkly comic novel about a wife whose rope is so frayed it snaps.
While working at Trader Joe’s to make ends meet, Laurel continues doting on her needy, unemployed husband. When she learns he’s been in a car accident, Laurel imagines the worst and is overcome with grief. But on her way to the hospital, another emotion seizes her. Relief. Doug’s death will solve everything. At last, no more catering to his constant demands. No more struggles to find time for her own needs. And then there’s the life insurance money. Laurel’s dreams are close enough to touch.
But there’s one problem. Doug is very much alive. Now Laurel has to decide if she’s going to do something about it.
Subversive, irreverent, and surprisingly poignant, Take My Husband probes the darkest corners of a suburban marriage and emerges to find the light. It’s an all-too-relatable story for anyone who’s spent just a little too much time with a significant other and thought, one of us has to go.
Take My Husband is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook
Paperback
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * IndieBound * Bookshop * Target * Walmart
eBook
Amazon-Kindle * Nook * Apple Books * Google * Kobo
Audio
Audible * Apple Audio * Kobo Audio * Google Audio
Praise for Take My Husband
“[A] laugh riot… Meister's comedic gifts keep the pages turning.”
-Newsday
STARRED REVIEW
★ “A darkly comedic farce, perfect for fans of Matthew Norman, Julie Valerie, and Kelly Harms. Mining years of built-up ignorance, complacency, and resentment, Laurel faces the toughest decisions of her life as she weighs familiar comfort against unknown thrills. Understanding that marriages can't always weather decades' worth of ebbs and flows, Meister's protagonist makes a strong case for communicating one's wants and needs early and loudly.”
-Booklist
“There were so many funny twists and hilarious situations, we loved every second. Ellen Meister is a master of writing every character with a ton of personality and fun quirks…. it’s an entertaining masterpiece.”
- The Honey Pop
“An entertaining saga of love lost and found, Take My Husband by Ellen Meister merges the edginess of a thriller with the soul of a romantic comedy, a winning combination sure to appeal to readers across the literary spectrum.”
-Shelf Awareness
“Meister’s ability to render the grimmest situation hilarious seems coded into her very DNA… Take My Husband, rendered in Meister’s trademark breezy prose, is a literary paradox — a hilarious exposition of the grim places to which the human heart might travel.”
-Paul Eberly
“This book makes you think, it gives you perspective. About complacency and martyrdom, comfort and stagnation, and blame versus fault. That sometimes when things have gone to shit you should look in the mirror and think about what part you might have played… good book, quick read, funny and serious.”
-Short and Sweet Book Reviews
“Ellen Meister always writes good novels and this continues her streak, with a part dark comedy, character driven story that goes one way then another with a character in Laurel that you root for.”
-Red Carpet Crash
“A laugh-out-loud darkly comic take on a modern suburban marriage. With wit and charm, wickedly delicious —Meister delivers another highly entertaining summer read... Deliciously witty and wholeheartedly authentic.”
-Judith D. Collins
"A heartfelt novel that will remind everyone the importance of communication, understanding, love and... trust."
- BookPleasures
“Take one tantalizing premise (could the death of her husband be a wife’s ticket out? And would or could she ever really do anything to speed that up?) along with Meister’s smartly sparkling writing, and you’ve got a page-turner with heart—and much needed laughs.”
- Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You
"Take My Husband is the perfect page-turner (and boy do the pages turn!). Laugh-out-loud funny and deadly serious, dark and light, it’s got wild cliffhangers, twisty twists and an unexpected but highly satisfying ending. Do yourself a favor; READ THIS BOOK!"
- David Henry Sterry, bestselling author of Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Roller Skates and Chippendales
"You know it’s going to be fun as soon as you hear the title! Ellen Meister's Take My Husband is the perfect novel for anyone who’s ever been annoyed by the sound of their husband chewing. Laurel, the hero, is the proverbial frog in a pot of water who doesn’t realize it’s boiling until too late. She's the leading lady we need today: a woman over fifty who attracts all kinds of suitors. A trip to Trader Joe's will never be the same."
- Leslie Lehr, bestselling author of A Boob's Life
“A sharp, laugh-out-loud novel about a doting wife who has finally had enough. Deeply funny and horribly familiar, TAKE MY HUSBAND is not to be missed! Ellen Meister is a modern day Dorothy Parker, a real treasure!”
- Beth Harbison, NYT bestselling author of Confessions of the Other Sister