View source for Accidents of Marriage by RS Meyers

{{infobox1
|title=Accidents of Marriage
|author=RS Meyers
|reviewer=Zoe Morris
|genre=Women's Fiction
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1471140440
|pages=368
|publisher=Simon & Schuster Ltd
|date=December 2014
|summary=Love changes everything but so does hate. An absorbing read about a troubled couple put through their paces in the aftermath of an accident.
|cover=147114044X
|aznuk=147114044X
|aznus=147114044X
}}

What if your marriage is crumbling? What if you are living on borrowed time? What if a terrible accident occurs and your role in the family has to change from absent father to man about the house? Would you rise to the challenge or add this to a long list of things you don’t do well?

Lawyer Ben is arrogant at work and violent at home. The sort of man with a short fuse and lots of naked flames, he is not much fun to have around, and it’s social worker Maddy who picks up the slack (and the kids…and the groceries….and the laundry). But when she is in a terrible car accident, Ben has to decide if he can take over the family reigns and guide their brood through what will be a long process with, and this is quite likely, an unpleasant outcome.

I absolutely loved this book, though it was definitely the characterisation of Maddy that won me over. The initial weeks after the accident are brutal as she struggles to express herself, and her growing frustration as people misunderstand her sentiments, or simply talk over or ignore her, is clear. How hard it must be to find yourself in that position, especially knowing that the person who your children now have to rely on for everything is hardly in the running for dad, or husband, of the year. 

It would have been easy to use this book to show that love conquers all, people can change, it’s all ok in the end and so on, so I was thrilled that the author seemed to have a different idea in mind. Maddy may be recovering from a traumatic brain injury, but she’s not stupid. She knows Ben’s game, so he’s going to have to go to great lengths to win back her trust. But will it be too little too late? I suspect you’ll definitely fall firmly into camp Maddy or camp Ben when you read this, as you can’t be supporting them both at once, but whoever you’re backing I think you’ll like the ending. Real, reasonable and not a cop out, I was delighted.

This book covers serious topics with sensitivity. The characters are flawed but real, and I think if you identify with what Maddy’s going through prior to the accident you won’t be cringing and what happens next, because it’s gritty and raw not a photoshopped version of how the situation might play out.

This book gave me lots of food for thought and despite the subject matter it was a brilliant and entertaining read.

I’d like to thank the publishers for sending us this book, from an author I’ll definitely want to see more from.

[[What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty]] has more lost memories, in perhaps a less serious and more humorous approach.

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