READING NATION MAGAZINE May Issue

Crazy To Leave You by Marilyn Rothstein

"A heartfelt, delicious story." --Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

From the author of Husbands and Other Sharp Objects comes a witty, bighearted novel about the happy accidents that lead to love and second chances.

Forty-one years old, the last of her friends to marry, and down to a size 12, Lauren Leo is in her gown and about to tie the knot. There's just one thing missing: the groom. With one blindsiding text, Lauren is unceremoniously dumped at the altar.

In the aftermath, her mother is an endless well of unsolicited advice (Stay on your diet and freeze your eggs). Her sisters only add to the Great Humiliation: one is planted on Lauren's couch while the other is too perfect.

Picking her heart up off the floor, Lauren turns to her work in advertising as she gathers courage to move on and plan her next step. She should know by now that nothing in life goes according to plan. What lies ahead is the road to self-acceptance and at long last feeling worthy. With a new way to measure love and success, Lauren chucks her scale--and finds a second chance in the most unexpected place.

Marilyn's latest novel, Crazy to Leave You, will launch on May 24, 2022

from Lake Union Publishing. Lisa Barr, author of Woman on Fire, says: "Rothstein’s genius lies in her keen observations, richly developed characters, razor-sharp ability to expose family dysfunction at its rotten core – and most of all, her unparalleled laugh-out-loud humor through love, loss, hope and healing."

Marilyn Simon Rothstein burst onto the women’s fiction scene with Lift and Separate, which was released in December 2016, and received the 2017 Star Award for Best Debut from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Jennifer Belle, bestselling author of High Maintenance, said, “Lift and Separate is a laughout-loud, heartwarming story that begs to be a blockbuster starring Nicholson and Keaton and shares the vulnerability, wisdom, and brilliance of Nora Ephron's Heartburn.”

Marilyn’s second humorous novel, Husbands and Other Sharp Objects, was published in March 2018, also by Lake Union. Camille Pagan, author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences, said, “From the first page I knew I was in expert hands. Rothstein has a true gift for humor and a knack for hitting the nail on the head—and her latest is no exception. Prepare to laugh a lot, cry a little, and come away from this novel feeling full of hope and joy.”

In addition, Marilyn is an engaging speaker who has addressed thousands of avid readers--from Dallas to Atlanta to Miami to Memphis. She has spoken extensively through the Jewish Book Council. She has entertained the members of philanthropic organizations and enjoys all literary events. She is a keynote speaker at the Pulpwood Queen Girlfriends Weekend. Pulpwood Queen is a network of over 700 books clubs worldwide.

Marilyn grew up in New York City, earned a degree in journalism from NYU, began her writing career at Seventeen magazine, married a man she met in an elevator and owned an award-winning advertising agency for more than twenty-five years.

She lives in Connecticut with her sharp object.