His Lovely Wife

Writing with warmth and humor, Connie Schultz reveals the rigors, joys, and absolute madness of a new marriage at midlife and campaigning with her husband, Sherrod Brown, now the junior senator from Ohio. She describes the chain of events leading up to Sherrod’s decision to run for the Senate (he would not enter the fray without his wife’s unequivocal support), and her own decision to step down from writing her Pulitzer Prize-winning column during the course of one of the nation’s most intensely watched races. She writes about the moment her friends in the press became not so friendly, the constant campaign demands on her marriage and family life, and a personal tragedy that came out of the blue. Schultz also shares insight into the challenges of political life: dealing with audacious bloggers, ruthless adversaries, and political divas; battling expectations of a political wife; and the shock of having staffers young enough to be her children suddenly directing her every move. Connie Schultz is passionate and outspoken about her opinions–in other words, every political consultant’s nightmare, and every reader’s dream. “[Schultz is] a Pulitzer Prize—winning journalist with a mordant wit. . . . The [campaign memoir] genre takes on new life.” –The Washington Post Book World “With her characteristic wit and reportorial thoroughness, [Schultz] describes the behind-the-scenes chaos, frustration and excitement of a political campaign and the impact it has on a candidate’s family.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune “Witty and anecdotal, whether read by a Democrat or a Republican.” –Deseret Morning News “Frank and feisty . . . a spunky tribute to the survival of one woman’s spirit under conditions in which it might have been squelched.” –The Columbus Dispatch

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER USA Today bestseller Edgar + ITW Thriller Award nominee for Best First Novel “Think: Dexter but sexier.”—theSkimm “A dark and irresistible debut.”—People “Will shock even the savviest suspense readers.”—Real Simple Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting... Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored. We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with. We all have our secrets to keeping a marriage alive. Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

Mark and Giulia's life together began as a storybook romance. They fell in love at eighteen, married at twenty-four, and were living their dream life in San Francisco. When Giulia was twenty-seven, she suffered a terrifying and unexpected psychotic break that landed her in the psych ward for nearly a month. One day she was vibrant and well-adjusted; the next she was delusional and suicidal, convinced that she was the devil and that her loved ones were not safe. All she wanted was to die. Eventually, Giulia fully recovered, and the couple had a son. But, soon after Jonas was born, Giulia had another breakdown, and then a third a few years after that. pushed to the edge of the abyss, everything the couple had once taken for granted was upended. A story of the fragility of the mind, and the tenacity of the human spirit, My Lovely Wife is, above all, a love story that raises profound questions: How do we care for the people we love? What and who do we live for? Breathtaking in its candor, radiant with compassion, and written with dazzling lyricism, Lukach's is an intensely personal odyssey through the harrowing years of his wife's mental illness, anchored by an abiding devotion to family that will affirm readers' faith in the power of love.

"In August 1997, accompanying her Nobel laureate husband to a physics conference in Paris, tall, blond, and beautiful Ellen Baxter is momentarily mistaken for Princess Diana when she arrives at the Paris Ritz hotel. One photographer realizes she is not Diana and helps her escape the paparazzi swarming around her, but photographs her anyway." "The next day Ellen runs into the photographer again at the site of Diana's death and finds a photo he has left there - a fierce, very uncharacteristic photo of Diana. Ellen pockets the photo. She is shocked by how deeply moved and shaken she is by Diana's death. As she gazes at the photo, she begins hearing Diana's voice in her head and realizes how much her own life parallels Diana's. And she fervently wants to find that photographer." "Suddenly Ellen is forced to come to grips with all she has compromised by being a lovely wife. Is she falling in love with the photographer or does she simply want him to provide her with a new image of herself?"--BOOK JACKET.

Writing with warmth and humor, Connie Schultz reveals the rigors, joys, and absolute madness of a new marriage at midlife and campaigning with her husband, Sherrod Brown, now the junior senator from Ohio. She describes the chain of events leading up to Sherrod’s decision to run for the Senate (he would not enter the fray without his wife’s unequivocal support), and her own decision to step down from writing her Pulitzer Prize-winning column during the course of one of the nation’s most intensely watched races. She writes about the moment her friends in the press became not so friendly, the constant campaign demands on her marriage and family life, and a personal tragedy that came out of the blue. Schultz also shares insight into the challenges of political life: dealing with audacious bloggers, ruthless adversaries, and political divas; battling expectations of a political wife; and the shock of having staffers young enough to be her children suddenly directing her every move. Connie Schultz is passionate and outspoken about her opinions–in other words, every political consultant’s nightmare, and every reader’s dream. “[Schultz is] a Pulitzer Prize—winning journalist with a mordant wit. . . . The [campaign memoir] genre takes on new life.” –The Washington Post Book World “With her characteristic wit and reportorial thoroughness, [Schultz] describes the behind-the-scenes chaos, frustration and excitement of a political campaign and the impact it has on a candidate’s family.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune “Witty and anecdotal, whether read by a Democrat or a Republican.” –Deseret Morning News “Frank and feisty . . . a spunky tribute to the survival of one woman’s spirit under conditions in which it might have been squelched.” –The Columbus Dispatch

Marriage is hard work! When Sandy Ralya's marriage was in trouble, she was desperate for help but didn't know how to ask for it. Everyone else's marriage seemed so perfect. How could she admit hers was not? Sandy eventually sought guidance from godly mentors and Christian counselors. What she learned transformed her life, and then her marriage. Now, she wants to provide other wives with the same nurturing and mentoring that saved her relationship. Whether your marital struggles are few or many, The Beautiful Wife offers biblical principles, practical tips, and inspiring stories to guide and encourage you as you look for God's best in your marriage. - Back cover.

Is your marriage as strong as it could be? This topical Bible study will strengthen your relationship with your wife--and with God.

From the 2005 Pulitzer Prize—winning columnist Connie Schultz comes fresh, clever, insightful commentary on life today: love, politics, social issues, family, and much, much more. In the tradition of Anna Quindlen, Molly Ivins, and Erma Bombeck, but with a distinctive voice and sensibility all her own, Connie Schultz comes out of the heartland of America to get you seeing, feeling, and thinking more deeply about the lives we lead today. “You might spot someone you know in the stories here,” writes Connie. “Maybe you’ll even find a glimpse of yourself. Yes, each of us is unique, but life happens in ways that bind us like Gorilla Glue.” In Life Happens, Connie shares sharp, passionate observations, winning our hearts with personal thoughts on a wide range of topics, from finding love in middle age to the meaning behind her father’s lunch pail, from single motherhood, to who really gets the tips you leave and why as the war in Iraq, race relations, gay marriage, and wwhy women don’t vote. In a more humorous vein, Connie shares her mother’s advice on men (“Don’t marry him until you see how he treats the waitress”) and warns men everywhere against using the dreaded f-word (it’s not the one you think). Along the way, Connie introduces us to the heroic people who populate our world and shows us how just one person can make a difference. Charming, provocative, funny, and perceptive, Life Happens gives us, for the first time, Connie Schultz’s celebrated commentary in one irresistible volume. Life Happens challenges us to be more open and alive to others and to the world around us.