What No One Tells the Bride

Book excerpt: What No One Tells the Bride is the inside scoop--good and bad--on what it's really like being married. In these pages, journalist Marg Stark breaks the newlywed code of silence and exposes the profound adjustments brides often experience. Stark and 50 married women tell their stories--showing others how to handle turbulence on cloud nine--and reveal marital truths, such as: You don't feel like a "Mrs." Sometimes you even dream about old boyfriends. You write all the wedding gift thank-you notes. So you are doomed to your mother's life--60 years of doing more than your share? Making love is the last thing on your mind when you have the flu and haven't showered for days. But he still wants to. You tell him you got these incredible bargains and quietly resent having to justify your spending. You have shining moments when marriage feels absolutely right, but nevertheless you pine for something more. Humorous and compassionate--with advice from marriage counselors, ministers, financial advisors, and sex therapists--What No One Tells the Bride is not only a practical guide for every newly married woman, it also makes the perfect wedding shower gifts.