Accidents of Marriage: A Novel

by Randy Susan Meyers

[Leah]

Randy Susan Meyers is an author I’ve long wanted to read – I have one of her previous novels The Comfort of Lies sitting on my shelf – it’s lovely, but I just haven’t had the time to read it yet! So when I spotted Accidents of Marriage on Netgalley, I requested myself a copy and after a super long wait, I was finally granted access to the book! I couldn’t wait to get stuck in, so I bumped it up my to be read list and made it my next, immediate read, and it was a very, very interesting novel.

I wasn’t sure exactly how the plot to Accidents of Marriage would unfold – how Ben’s abuse would manifest itself to Maddy ending up in the hospital, but those opening few chapters really put you on edge, because Ben is a man with a temper. Thankfully, Maddy can kind of hold off his temper and isn’t afraid to tell him to calm down, and cool off. I liked that about her – it meant she wasn’t absolutely terrified of Ben, not that that made it any better. You should never have to put up with someone else’s rages, and when Maddy ends up in the hospital, after a car crash, it was awful. It was something you say coming a mile off, but it was still such an awful, awful feeling. You knew something bad was coming, you just didn’t know how or why or when it would manifest itself.

The scariest part for me, was seeing what Maddy’s accident did to her children, Gracie, Emma and Caleb. It completely changed the landscape of their lives – and while perhaps Gracie and Caleb were young enough for it to not have a massive effect, only knowing their Mom wasn’t around, Emma had to shoulder the brunt of everything – taking care of the younger ones, doing chores around the house that otherwise shouldn’t be left to her, being here, there and everywhere, and that’s a lot of responsibility for a kid to deal with, and I felt so sad for Emma. I just wanted to give her a hug, because no one else realised how much she was doing, and how much it was taking out of her. It was a very harsh, very real look, at what can happen in an instant, how not only Maddy’s life changed, but so did her kids, her immediately family, even Ben’s life changed. He couldn’t be as selfish as he was (although he still had his moments – once a douche, always a douche). The even scarier part came when Maddy came home. It was really, really hard for me to like the “After” Maddy, and I know it wasn’t her fault, but she did seem very zombiefied. It was scary as hell.

Accidents of Marriage isn’t the happiest book you’ll ever read; it’s sad, it’s honest, it’s raw. It’s tough to take at times – Maddy’s regression after her accident is eye-opening, startling, and very painful. Randy Susan Meyers doesn’t hide away from the tough subjects it seems, and she pulls it off very well, but if you want a happy book this isn’t it. This is a very eye-opening account about abuse, about marriage, about being able to trust someone, and it’s quite frightening when Ben flares up, as he often does. I could imagine the kids flinching as if I were watching it on the TV, I could feel their pain and confusion as to why Daddy was always shouting, and it was super sad. A very, very interesting read, but not for the faint hearted. The ending also left little to be desired, I will always prefer an open and shut ending, with actual clarity, than to be left hanging. That was really the only downfall in what was an excellent, very well executed novel.