365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy [Paperback]

Charla Muller (Author), Betsy Thorpe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

When Charla Muller?s husband turned 40, she gave him something memorable. Sex. Every day. For an entire year.

The Mullers had a solid marriage and two wonderful children, but over the years sex had fallen low on their to-do list. The lack of intimacy wasn?t causing them to drift apart, exactly, but their connection didn?t seem as great as it could be. Charla decided she couldn?t go on pretending the relationship they once had wasn?t important.

The couple would embark on a year of scheduled sex, falling over Tonka trucks and piles of laundry in an effort to make time for each other. There were obstacles along the way (work implosions, faking it) and questions came to light. Will sex every day strengthen a marriage, or reveal the cracks? Pull a couple together or drive them apart? Does good sex (even mediocre sex) make up for things that aren?t so good?

Editorial Reviews

Review

?Charla Muller is the Lou Gehrig of postmarital sex. Or maybe the Louise Gehrig. Whichever it is, I thank her for her inspiring journey.?
?A.J. Jacobs, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Know It All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World"

?This makes Morgan Spurlock look like a wimp for just eating McDonald's food for 90 days.?
? Celia Rivernbark, author of the forthcoming "Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattereed Hissy Fits" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Charla Muller has worked for eighteen years as a publicist and special events planner. Born in North Carolina, Charla attended UNC—Chapel Hill School of Journalism. Betsy Thorpe, a transplanted New York book editor, met Charla Muller in North Carolina and cajoled Charla’s story out of her. Betsy runs an editorial services company. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1ST edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425222578
• ISBN-13: 978-0425222577
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #357,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couples everywhere need to thank Charla Muller for this gift of a book!, June 25, 2008

By 

CredoDuckDaughter - See all my reviews

This review is from: 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy (Paperback)

If you haven't heard about this book yet, hold on to your hat. This hilarious, honest, moving account of one woman's "Gift" to her husband of sex everyday for a year is an incredible story. Charla has a wonderful writing style that makes you feel like you are sitting across a table from her with a glass of wine in your hand, sharing all your innermost thoughts with your best friend. Her voice perfectly captures what it is like for many women that have been married for a number of years, with a couple of kids, working inside or outside the home, with a husband around here somewhere and sex not anywhere on that endless to-do list. The topic of sex in a marriage (or lack thereof!) is still somewhat taboo, with a lot of people thinking about it, but no one really willing to talk about it. Thankfully Charla Muller had the courage and the pluck to not only come up with the idea of sex everyday, but to write a witty, enjoyable book about it! (Note: the book is completely G-rated, with a focus on the relationship, not the act itself.) Her honesty and humor provides a great forum for husbands and wives everywhere to talk about "the elephant in the bedroom" and in the process reconnect with one another. Thank you Charla for giving the Gift to Brad and for giving everyone else the gift of your book! Can't wait to read your next one.....

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wake up, Charla!!, January 20, 2009

By 

Margotte Julionsci "illuminati37411" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy (Paperback)

Some of the negative reviews have been from Northern types who just didn't get Charla at all. I enjoyed reading the book -- obviously, Charla's not a professional writer, but she's honest, and her voice is clear and vibrant. Perhaps not to your taste if you're not a Southern Baptist Republican, but she's putting herself on the line here. Don't expect any explicit sexual descriptions -- there's a somewhat prissy overuse of the word "intimacy" for sexual intercourse, for example. But overall, she sounds like a fun friend and a good mother. No quarrel there.

But-- I admit to being really shocked by her admission of how much she dislikes sex with her husband. She claims all her girlfriends dislike sex too. By the end of the book, I felt really sorry for her husband, who has to beg her to even look interested.

Wake up, Charla! All you gave your husband was the use of the lower half of your body. Spend a year learning to enjoy sex and write another book about that! I have to believe that deep down, that's what you wanted, or otherwise, why would you have suggested the 365 days of sex anyway?

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and Off-Topic, April 10, 2009

By 

Avid Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: 365 Nights: A Memoir of Intimacy (Paperback)

Not worth your time or money. The author uses the premise to discuss almost everything except sex. There are almost no details about the sex-life of the author and her husband. With respect to specific sexual activity, the reader is never informed as to exactly what it is the couple did before or during the 365 days. Even the simplest description of what exactly constituted "sex" during this time period is left to the reader's imagination. Most of the book is devoted to the author's musings on topics unrelated to the title, and her constant use of parenthetical thoughts is both annoying and distracting. A much better, entertaining, and informative book---that manages to stay entirely on point---is "Just Do It" by Douglas Brown.