{"product_id":"9780865475892","title":"Cleaving : The Story of a Marriage","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eCleaving\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Dennis Covington, Vicki Covington\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Marriage is like a rain forest,\" Vicki Covington writes in Cleaving. \"The story of a marriage contains all that grows in the canopy, all that is visible from an aerial, or public, view. The understory of a marriage is the place where . . . we struggle, fight, and conceive. It's the place where compost is made, where anything can grow, including forgiveness.\" Told in the authors' alternating voices, Cleaving is both the story and the understory of a marriage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChildhood acquaintances, Vicki and Dennis meet again in their twenties and wed. they \"promise each other nothing\" and get more than they'd bargained for: alcoholism, infidelity, infertility, uncertainty. tumult gives way to sobriety, parenthood, and meaningful work, but a yearning remains. In a quest to root themselves in the larger world, they embark on a mission to dig water wells in Central America, assuaging a spiritual thirst by addressing a practical need. Yet even this is part of the story-the visible, overarching canopy-of the marriage. The understory-and the triumph of this haunting book, which is neither sentimental nor cynical-is its portrayal of the eddying of passion through the institution that enshrines but cannot contain it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA soulful and unsparing portrait of the forces that threaten-and sustain-a relationship over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Cleaving is a wondrous love story. It speaks of the terness and dangers of eros as well as any book I have read, but it is the book's burning spirituality that stays with you.” —\u003ci\u003ePat Conroy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This marriage can be seen as a nest of contradictions: sacred and profane; sterile and fertile; faithful and marked by betrayal . . . As a love story this is both disturbing and exhilarating, but it leaves the reader wanting to sp more time with these very honest and vital people.” —\u003ci\u003eBooklist, Starred Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This raw, emotional memoir of a 20-year marriage is unforgettable . . . Highly recommed.” —\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal, starred review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780865475892\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"North Point Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40593144742094,"sku":"9780865475892","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_650afdcc-f106-48e1-835b-f029702624a1.jpg?v=1637782534","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780865475892","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}