Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story

Sad and touching but rewarding to read

You feel like an intruder to one of the most intimate parts of a person's life: their divorce. Its touching in the way that the author can admit that she had a part in the dissolving of her marriage. She doesn't demonize the man who left her and their sons. She just tells it like she experienced it. Honest and beautiful.

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Completely Riveting!

This book captured my attention from the very first page. It is a riveting story that you feel guilty enjoying so much. I literally finished this book in 24 hours.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Gut Wrenching Depiction of the Demise of a Marriage

Isabel Gillies chronicles in absorbing detail the unraveling of her "perfect" marriage and life. As she struggles to reconcile the idea of her perfect life to the reality of it, she endures many soul crushing moments but soldiers on at times bravely and at other times with a blind eye to the reality of her situation. The title of the book says it all. Infidelity and divorce happen everyday but when it happens to you, it is a lonely, desperate, isolating experience. Isabel nails the experience dead on.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Great ideas, bad delivery

I heard an interview on NPR and thought this would be a good read. After the first few pages I realized the writer had no skills coordinating thoughts, some paragraphs were over a page long! She begins with a brief history of her impressive family which fails to bear any relavence on her current situation. She flip flops all over the place after that. Her style shows potential for a writer, her editor/advisor did her no justice assisting in idea organization.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Okay I didn't like "Sylvia"..then.....

at the end I discovered you actually are friends now. What a bust I read this whole book where I too started to dislike the women who doesn't know how to respect another women's family...then after reading without putting down, only to find at the end you and "Sylvia" are best buddies felt like somewhat had just SLAPPED me...I am tearing that page out before I lend it to my friends....

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book!

Isabel says in the beginning "I am not a writer...but I have been told I write good emails". That sets the tone for this warm compelling book....the story unfolds like shared confidences between friends over a glass of wine. It is based on her life experience....great marriage, beautiful home, wonderful husband, good friends.

Opps......turns out the husband has the attention span of a gnat and falls in love with Isabels "friend" in the blink of an eye. He and the "friend" both lie and drive her batty...the divorce is all her fault he would have her believe. Liar Liar. Anyone who has been divorced, been left by a faithless man,is going thru a divorce or is a single mother can totally relate to her story.

The book is not all pain, it is about moving on even when you just want to crawl up into a ball and fade away. Her family, friends and beautiful boys get her through. Isabels words are so descriptive.....she sets the stage well. For an untrained writer the story is lively, interesting and well paced.

Whoever wrote the "OMG he left her" review is obviously either "the other woman" type, a borderline personality, or really young with no life experience. This is a warm witty book...I read it in one sitting and have recommended it to both my siters and my 3 best friends.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Compelling Read

Reading Isabel's book is like having a cup of coffee with your best friend. Isabel takes you on her journey with pathos and wit. An easy read that will evoke many emotions.

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

OMG, the guy dumped her

If you like 'dissing my kids' father in public because he cheated on me just like he did to his first wife' types of literature, this book is a quick, easy read. Brought the old saying about a 'woman scorned' to mind. Occasional gratuitous use of F-word that may/may not make it into the final version. Wouldn't bother reading it again and am thankful the copy I read was free.

I liked the character she played on TV.

2 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Read Straight Through

Am currently in a horrendous divorce with a man who left me because he prefers men and is still lying about it. I could relate to Isabel's feeling crazy and wanting to know the truth. I appreciated her truthfulness in revealing the things she did such as confronting other people about what was going on with her husband. The entire book made sense to me and I could relate to everything she wrote and understood why she included it in her story. Her ex is a scum for what he put her through by not telling the truth. He is lucky she forgave him. I will not forgive my husband for the long list of lies he told, the 3 years he has put me though hell and the devastating effect it has had on my children who are now teenagers and old enough to understand. We still are not even divorced.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Thank you...

I am so thankful that such a raw and emotional story was laid out on the table. With divorce comes shame,self-doubt and a huge amount of grief that it so difficult to express. Some may feel that the beginning of the book was all over the place...run on paragraphs and thoughts...but she wrote the story exactly how her life felt at the time. Divorce creates a mess of thoughts and run on paragraphs. Divorce and infidelity can make your feel, look, seem and act crazy. I am thankful because in a sense she told my story as well. After reading this book I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I think it took a lot of courage to share this story.
Thank you.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Needs Order

I couldn't finish this book becuase the writing was all over the place, not even in a creative way. I am very happy with my husband we have been together for 11 years and i was hoping this book might shed light on things not to do, but it turns out the guy is just scum and pretty much did the same thing to his first wife. She should have seen that red flag and ran before having kids with him. Not intersting at all, just sad on many accounts

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A little boring

I was drawn to this book as I also went through a divorce where my husband had an affair and left me for another woman. I also was like her in the fact that I didn't want to let go of my husband and just couldn't believe that he was willing to throw a life together away for another woman. But the story was a little boring even though I could relate to her feelings and what she went through. I will read books again if I really enjoy them. This one I would not read again or recommend.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A shocking betrayal

I have read so many memoirs but this one really got to me. To be so in love with your husband, to be at the start of your marriage and family life and have your whole world simply collapse. It was terrifying to witness. I actually read my husbands emails with sweaty palms (he's clean)! It is disturbing to think that a man you love and trust and have recently made babies with can just fall in love with someone else and just like that it's all gone. Truly a cautionary tale.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An Amazingly honest view into a marriage

This is a can't put down read- Isable Gillies takes you into an intimate look at the break down of a marriage. This is an amazingly insightful view into what really happens behind closed doors. it will take your breath away.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Amazing...

The first page I was debating whether or not to read this book. Then after the first chapter I was addicted, finished in about 3 days. It was great to hear her story and I defintely was NOT expecting it to be such a great book. BUY THIS!!!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A REAL PAGE TURNER

Reading Isabel's book is like sharing a cup of coffee with her. She tells you her innermost feelings and makes lemonade out of lemons. Her book is an inspiration to anyone who has felt in dispair after a partner leaving. A wonderful, easy read! I loved this book!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A compelling one night read.

This book was hard to put down. Some of the novice writer elements were mildly annoying, but overall, the conversational tone and pace were excellent and absorbing. I just could not stop reading it. Ms. Gillies has a good eye for her own foibles, life's meaningful small details and her marriage's minor pre-breakup strains, and she affectingly describes her humbling efforts to keep it all together. While I could not shake my own feeling of being pissed off at her pathetic 'friend' and her uncommunicative husband, and my worry that she lowered herself to bear the brunt of the whole thing, I am glad for her that she feels at peace with their complicated relationship today. She is a better person than I fear I'd be.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Best book I've read in a while

I started reading this book and couldn't put it down. I also couldn't stop talking about it with my friends and family. Gillies's writing is fabulous. She is thoughtful and honest - often putting herself on the line. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. Don't miss it!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book!

I just bought this without really looking, so I didn't realize it was a memoir until a couple pages in. While some say her writing style is disjointed, I loved it because she writes how I think. So it made me feel like I was just talking to a friend and hearing about her situation.

LOVED IT!

I stumbled upon this book by getting the advertisement as a book mark from Barnes and Noble.
I bought and totally identified with it, since I was going through similar situations of my own.
The story is told like you're listening to a friend.
I really connected with this book. Give it a shot.
I can't wait to read her new book now as well!
christine