• Marry Him

  • The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough
  • By: Lori Gottlieb
  • Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
  • Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (816 ratings)

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Marry Him  By  cover art

Marry Him

By: Lori Gottlieb
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
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Publisher's summary

You have a fulfilling job, a great group of friends, the perfect apartment, and no shortage of dates. So what if you haven't found The One just yet. Surely he'll come along, right?

But what if he doesn't? Or even worse, what if he already has, but you just didn't realize it?

Suddenly finding herself 40 and single, Lori Gottlieb said the unthinkable in her March 2008 article in The Atlantic: Maybe she, and single women everywhere, needed to stop chasing the elusive Prince Charming and instead go for Mr. Good Enough.

Looking at her friends' happy marriages to good-enough guys who happen to be excellent husbands and fathers, Gottlieb declared it time to reevaluate what we really need in a partner. Her ideas created a firestorm of controversy from outlets like the Today show to The Washington Post, which wrote, "Given the perennial shortage of perfect men, Gottlieb's probably got a point", to Newsweek and NPR, which declared, "Lori Gottlieb didn't want to take her mother's advice to be less picky, but now that she's turned 40, she wonders if her mother is right." Women all over the world were talking. But while many people agreed that they should have more realistic expectations, what did that actually mean out in the real world, where Gottlieb and women like her were inexorably drawn to their "type"?

That's where Marry Him comes in.

By looking at everything from culture to biology, in Marry Him, Gottlieb frankly explores the dilemma that so many women today seem to face - how to reconcile the strong desire for a husband and family with a list of must-haves so long and complicated that many great guys get rejected out of the gate. Here Gottlieb shares her own journey in the quest for romantic fulfillment, and in the process gets wise guidance and surprising insights from marital researchers, matchmakers, dating coaches, behavioral economists, neuropsychologists, sociologists, couples therapists, divorce lawyers, and clergy - as well as single and married men and women, ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s.

Marry Him is an eye-opening, often funny, sometimes painful, and always truthful in-depth examination of the modern dating landscape, and ultimately, a provocative wake-up call about getting real about Mr. Right.

©2010 Lori Gottlieb (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Marry Him is a frank and funny read, weaving real people's stories with Gottlieb's own experiences, and containing sharp examinations of how society and culture - everything from When Harry Met Sally to The Bachelor - come into play when modern women look for love." (The New York Observer)

"A provocative pop culture treatise...she encourages us to think through our own beliefs and unexamined assumptions." (The Chicago Tribune)

"Marry Him shows women how to find true happiness when seeking love - by giving them a new way to look at the world. Gottlieb manages to be hilarious yet thought-provoking, light-hearted yet profound on the questions of: Why do we fall in love? What qualities really matter in a marriage? For what reasons do we make the decisions that affect our whole lives? Like provocative relationship classics such as The Rules and He's Just Not That Into You, Marry Him will set people talking for years." (Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project)

What listeners say about Marry Him

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Stop being so concrete

I never write reviews. But the polarized nature of the reviews here lead to me believe that Lori Gottlieb is onto something. Look, if you’re not interested in getting married or in a long term relationship, then don’t read this book. But if you are, then these ideas are worth considering. Because what Lori is essentially saying is “Hi, it’s me, I’m the problem it’s me”, just like T Swift says. This is an age-old and important notion, that we can’t change other people but we can change ourselves. This book is in no way anti-feminist. In fact, isn’t being a true feminist supporting whatever path women want to take? Wanting a husband or life partner is not anti-feminist, not supporting women who do want that is anti-feminist. See my first point- if you have zero interest in getting married or don’t believe in marriage don’t bother with this book. If you want to be in a poly relationship, don’t bother with this book, although I do believe the ideas presented transcend more than just as applied to marriage. Instead, if you can think critically for a second and stop being so concrete, the overall message is “figure out what your values are and go after that” and by values I mean the stuff that really matters, not if a partner has a perfect haircut or a flashy job. Because shared values, not shared interests, are what actually make for a good marriage or long term relationship.

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6 people found this helpful

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Engaging narration, lacking diversity

The narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life. However, the material and subjects used to gather the range of stories fell short in ethnic diversity.

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Enjoyable for guys too!

This book is very much written for women, but as a guy I found it incredibly insightful. Well written, well researched, and with a great narrator. Potentially life changing information to the right audience.

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Good storytelling

As a guy, listening to this book was very eye opening!A perspective I never thought of before.

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great advice

being 41 and never married I found this book to be extremely helpful and insightful. I plan to take a lot of the things I learned from it and use in my real dating life. wish me luck

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AMAZING!

Such an eye opener with a reflective and honest perspective! Thoroughly enjoyed every aspect and every angle! Made me swallow a get real pill!

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Exceptional and Truly Helpful

This book really gave me realistic prospective on dating and helped me outline traits that are truly important and weed through the superficial ones we are taught are important in modern day society. I will be recommending this book to all my female friends as I think this will help them as much as it’s helped me

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Couldn’t stop reading/listening.

This book was everything!! I learned so much! So insightful. Great read! Thanks Lori Gottlieb.

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Awesome

I absolutely loved this book. I’d recommend it to anyone. Nice work. Way to go

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A Reality Check

I love the fact that everything she mentioned was backed by research or professional opinion! A humbling but good read!

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