Strangers by Belle Burden
Strangers is the story of how a seemingly happy marriage suddenly fell apart. It started with a phone call from an unknown number, which turned out to be a man saying Belle's husband was having an affair with his wife (and they had 2 toddlers at home). Belle asked her husband if it was true and he said yes, then packed a bag and left her and their 3 kids behind. After I read this book, I felt that both of them could have benefited from therapy. He had never recovered from his childhood--his family was well off then his father had a nervous breakdown, lost his job, and moved to his own apartment. His mother had to sell the family home and pinch pennies for the rest of his childhood, which made him obsess about financial security for the rest of his life. Belle was way too passive and too in love, and went along with whatever he said once they got married, often to her own financial detriment. At one point, she was offered a good job and was trying to figure out how to juggle work a...