Book Review - Committed

Committed - Men Tell Stories of Love, Commitment, and Marriage is a collection of personal essays on how men came to be committed to their partner with a few tales of their parents' relationships thrown into the mix.

Some of the stories were poignant, David Sedaris' comes to mind, while some are more practical. James McManus, who wrote Positively Fifth Street about the World Series of Poker, states that he's not as attracted physically to his wife as he used to be although he still loves her. He won't cheat, however, and wouldn't consider divorce because of the financial aspect. Sounds cold blooded when I sum it up that way which does a disservice to his tale as he's not as blunt.

A common theme through many of the stories was how the man was completely messed up when he met his mate (emotionally and/or physically) and how she (or he) overlooked that deficiency and found something to love. That love turned into being the saving grace that let the man turn his life around. I thought some of the men were just a bunch of whiners, actually, and couldn't see how anyone would find something redeeming in them.

A lot of these anthologies seem to dwell on the negative, it was nice to read about men who are actually happy in their relationships.

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