Crazy to Leave You by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

Narrated by Dara Rosenberg

Women’s Fiction with Romance. Stands Alone.

I found Crazy to Leave You by Marilyn Simon Rothstein on my search for Hanukkah books. This isn’t a Hanukkah book but it does feature a 41-year-old Jewish heroine who was just left at the altar.

Lauren was a very relatable character for me. She struggled to get down to a size 12 for her wedding dress, then she gets dumped and goes and binges. Her relationship with food and with herself is so like mine, perhaps because I also have two perfect sisters and a perfect mom who is obsessed with my weight (but my mom is nicer).

“From then on, I dieted, surviving on four organic egg whites for breakfast, green salad—no dressing—for lunch. Dinnertime, I grilled a six-ounce fillet of salmon—illegally on my tiny terrace overlooking a schoolyard in Manhattan. I searched five states for six months looking for the perfect wedding gown. I was so full of pride to finally fit into a size 12, I would’ve worn the tag down the aisle instead of the actual dress.” (Quote taken from Goodreads)

Lauren’s fiancé Eric was such an immature brat that I’m glad he left her at the altar, it gave Lauren a chance to finally discover her own self worth, but it took some time and growth to get there. Lauren was an advertising executive (another relatable moment…that was my career for 25 years), and she had to drive to see clients, but when she hurt her wrist, her boss hired a driver for her.

Her conversations and banter with her driver Rudy were always the light spots in this book, and his personality helped Lauren lighten up and see the world differently. I loved watching Lauren grow and see that her “perfect” sisters both have their own issues. The family dysfunction was so real, as were all of the characters. I felt like I knew a few of them! (6 degrees of Jewish separation…is that true with book characters?)

Likes:

Very relatable characters.
Reading about a Jewish family.
Lauren’s growth of a backbone.
Dealt with so many issues, like diet culture, body shaming, sexism, and toxic relationships.
Shows how toxic someone can be when they harp on your weight because they “care about your health.”
The references of sleepaway camp.

Dislikes:

It kind of felt like the book didn’t know where it was going for a bit, but then again neither did Lauren.
Lauren seemed way younger than 41, she was very immature at times.
I felt like the romance could have been stronger. As it is, it’s more women’s fiction, though I enjoyed the romance.

The Narration:

Dara Rosenberg was perfect. She knew just how to get that Jewish feel across, and her narration absolutely added to the book.

The Down & Dirty:

Crazy to Leave You by Marilyn Simon Rothstein was a fun listen for me. I found Lauren and her whole Jewish family to be very, very relatable, though some might be put off by her obsession with her weight. The book tackled a number of tough issues while remaining a light, fun read. I will definitely be picking up some of the author’s other books after reading this.