Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love [Hardcover]

Rachel Simon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her second memoir (after Riding the Bus with My Sister), Simon writes about her relationship with her husband, Hal. The two married after 19 years together (including a breakup and reunion) and moved into Hal's historic row house in Wilmington, Del. When the house is burglarized, the couple consider moving, but decide to renovate instead, both to save money and give Hal, an architect, the opportunity to design their abode. The decision, Simon writes, will blow open the tight seal around everything I think I know about myself, about family, about the misunderstandings and resilience of love. It makes for an intriguing narrative, punctuated by musings on everything from quitting to the definition of design to her life as a writer and public speaker. In this inspirational book, readers who have completed or are contemplating remodeling will empathize with Simon's frustration-induced fits of pique or the couple's rush of gratitude for a lovely home. (June)
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Product Description

The bestselling and highly acclaimed author of Riding the Bus with My Sister returns with an illuminating and tenderhearted memoir about the unexpected ways a home renovation can change a life.

Rachel Simon's historic home on a charming tree- lined street was hardly ideal. It was too small, too dark, and there was a gaping hole in the dining room ceiling. So when the house is burglarized, Rachel and her husband, Hal, agree it's time to sell. But in a difficult housing market, and with Hal being an architect, they soon realize: Why leave when they can renovate?

Rachel prepares herself for the disagreements and disasters that can accompany a major home renovation. But what she isn't prepared for is the emotional journey that will blow open the seal around everything she thinks she knows about herself, about family, and about the misunderstandings and resilience of love. From Hal's first design sketch to the last stroke of paint, memories of a difficult childhood, friendships left behind, challenges with siblings, and an improbable path to marriage come bursting out. Once the dust settles, Rachel is astonished by the many gems revealed along the way-and comes to discover profound insights about the construction, demolition, and renovation of personal connections.

Featuring beloved characters from Riding the Bus with My Sister and written with Simon's signature breathtaking prose, Building a Home with My Husband is a wise and poignant reflection on love's endless possibilities and the extraordinary endurance of the human spirit.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (June 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525951202
• ISBN-13: 978-0525951209
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #947,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story about family and home, June 12, 2009

By	CGScammell (Southern Arizona) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Rachel Simon is a wonderful storyteller and writer. She can make a topic as mundane (and chaotic!) as home renovation meander through a story about family, abandonment and love weave into one. This is a special talent few writers can achieve.

I was expecting a story about a quarreling couple fighting over where the new deck should go, the price of goods and city ordinances. And although we do learn about such things, these topics do not overtake the reader. Obstacles are encountered and overcome with humor and sensitivity and the couple tackle the next problem. The interesting thing is that there always ARE problems with the house and neighbors and costly hidden fees.

Readers familiar with Simon's previous book "Riding the Bus With My Sister" should be used to Rachel's writing style, but this book, which reads like a sequel to her book about Beth on the bus, adds more insight into her own pains and agonies of her own family and the battles she fought as a younger woman over her own mother and mentally disabled sister. Some of these characters return for more detail as people of Rachel's past.

This home renovation, then, is more than just a diary of what it took to renovate this house on Teacher's Lane, it's also a book about discovering her own self, her painful past, old friends, even older ghosts, and overcoming fears (that began with a home burglary). Simon details the memories we all experience when packing up a household ends up being more about a long walk down Memory Lane.

Alas, it's not just a walk down Memory Lane though. Just as the title suggests, the house that Rachel moved in with her now husband Hal evolved from a painful and crowded house into a home, a house that they renovated together to build into a home, now finished and ready for the couple to call their very own.

People who read this book expecting expert advice on what to calculate when taking on a renovation job may be disappointed in this book's tempo. (Much of the home renovation prices are revealed at the end of the book). This book is more about the commitment one takes on when renovating a house into a home. Much like finally getting married to the same man one has spent almost 20 years with, "Building a Home" is a love story about dedicated love, pain and sacrifice and understanding one's own inner fears. This book may tempt other couples to take on the same task in order to strenghten their own marriage.

Be warned though: only the strong will survive.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Renovation and Life, June 7, 2009

By	Chris (Montana) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I always feel guilty when I read great reviews for a book that I did not like. The book is well written, but it didn't hold my interest after the first 25 pages. It was paced too slow and the comparisons of home renovation and life renovations fell flat for me.

The author seemed to have an epiphany once per chapter. I'm happy that she has found her life partner, but sorry she seems to have to work so hard to appreciate him, and her busy life.

For me the book was too slow. Walking (crawling)through an extensive renovation does not plot enough to keep the pages turning.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointment, July 17, 2009

By	Just Me (here and there across the USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

The author seems to dwell on the negative. Not an uplifting or otherwise enjoyable read. The author can't let go of what happened it the past. It seems that she doesn't want to have a good life now, since she had difficulties before. She lets the past bog her down. I didn't connect with the author. It felt like I was listening to a complainer and my only thought was, how do I get away from this person. So, I never did finish the book. You can find a better use of your time than this book.