"I don?t want to be married to you." This was one of the last things Alexandra Fuller said to her husband before the horrific accident that would change their lives forever. In her most personal memoir yet, the bestselling author of "Don?t Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" and "Cocktails Under the Tree of Forgetfulness" tells the heartrending story of her long and stormy marriage to Charlie Ross, the love of her life, the father of her three children, and the man she ultimately couldn?t live with. Her tale of passion and loss will speak to wives, husbands, and anyone who has been deeply in love.

Fuller was a young British college graduate recently returned to her parents? farm in Zambia when she met and fell hard for Ross, a handsome American river guide. Before long they were married with a newborn, living in a cottage on the Zambezi River, caught up with the challenges of life in the African wilds, including a near-death bout with malaria. It was easy to overlook the cracks that soon began to show in their relationship. ?The place, with all its beautiful difficulties,? Fuller writes, 'supplanted the need for real conversation, filled the space that might have been left for the exchange of real ideas and intimacy, and made up in drama and splendor what we lacked in closeness.?

The couple marched on, sticking it out through a move to the United States, ongoing financial struggles, and Fuller's determination to succeed as a writer. But the troubles between them only got worse. Then came the day when a peaceful horseback ride went tragically wrong, forcing Fuller to come to terms with her life and her toxic marriage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandra Fuller is the author of "Don?t Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight," "Cocktails Under the Tree of Forgetfulness," "Scribbling the Cat," and "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant." She was born in England in 1969, and in 1972 she moved with her family to a farm in Rhodesia. After the civil war there in the seventies, the Fullers moved first to Malawi, then to Zambia. She now lives in Wyoming.

PRAISE FOR ALEXANDRA FULLER

?Electrifying ? Writing in shimmering, musical prose.? ?Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

?The writer's finesse at handling the element of time is brilliant, as she interweaves near-present-day incidents with stories set in the past.? ?Cleveland Plain Dealer

?[Fuller] plumbs her family story with humor, memory ? and a no-nonsense attitude toward family foibles, follies and tragedy. The reader is rewarded with an intimate family story ? told with remarkable grace and style.? ?Minneapolis Star Tribune

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.