The Arithmetic of Compromise

What is the true price of a shared dream? We enter marriage with a heart full of hope and a blueprint for a perfect life. But reality, with its quiet disappointments and unspoken compromises, has a way of redrawing the lines. In this profoundly moving and witty collection, fifteen couples discover that love is the simplest part. The hard part is the arithmetic. Meet the pair who fought a cinematic battle to be together, only to find their greatest challenge in the silent war over whose turn it is to do the dishes. The "perfectly matched" duo who trusted an algorithm, unprepared for the messy, uncoded variables of a sick parent or a lost job. The elderly husband who becomes the gentle editor of his wife's fading memory, tenderly revising their past to protect her present. From the clash of intercontinental treaties to the startling void of an empty nest, these stories lay bare the universal journey from the person you marry to the stranger you must learn to love again. They reveal that every marriage is a delicate equation of sacrifice and resilience, where the most important deposit is not passion, but the daily, courageous choice to try once more. Bittersweet, poignant, and laced with sharp insight, The Arithmetic of Compromise is a mirror held up to the most intimate of human partnerships. It is a masterful exploration of the fragile sums that bind us, and the beautiful, imperfect totals of a life built together. Perfect for readers of Olive Kitteridge and The Interpreter of Maladies**.**