Take My Spouse, Please: How to Keep Your Marriage Happy, Healthy, and Thriving by Following the Rules of Comedy

by Dani Klein Modisett

Overview

This humorous take on marriage shows you how the true keys to marital bliss and success are—surprisingly—the same as the cardinal rules of comedy.

In love, as in comedy, timing is everything. One bad night doesn’t mean it’s time to quit. Have patience: great marriages, like a successful comedy career, take time. Turns out the cardinal rules of comedy have an uncanny resemblance to the “rules” of building a strong marriage. With humor and grace, Dani Klein Modisett shares a map for navigating your marriage through rough patches, bad jokes, and even nights when you bomb.

Take My Spouse, Please shows how thirteen tried-and-true rules of comedy, when applied to marriage, keep you and your spouse connected, enjoying each other, and getting through tough times. Along with anecdotes from well-known comedians, comedy writers, marriage counselors, and long-term spouses, Dani delivers the core premise: humor matters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611801477
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

DANI KLEIN MODISETT is a comedian and writer who has been working in the comedy world for the past twenty years. She created and produced several live shows, most notably “Afterbirth . . . Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine,” which ran for ten years in Los Angeles and several major U.S. cities. In addition, Dani has written and produced a variety of online video content, including a series for Deepak Chopra, and a short video that is also titled “Take My Spouse, Please,” which was featured in the New York Times. Dani is the editor of the anthology Afterbirth: Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine (St. Martin’s, 2009). Her writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Parents Magazine, LA Parent Magazine, Mom.me and the Huffington Post. Dani is a graduate of Dartmouth College and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her two sons.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Show Up
Chapter 2: Listen
Chapter 3: Sex: Like Jokes in a Club, Make Sure You Have Some
Chapter 4: Know Your Audience
Chapter 5: Timing Is Everything
Chapter 6: Keep Surprising Them
Chapter 7: Don’t Decide to Quit After One Bad Night
Chapter 8: Find Ways to Relax
Chapter 9: Wardrobe Matters
Chapter 10: Stay Current
Chapter 11: Stick with the Winners 
Chapter 12: Great Marriages, Like Great Comedy Careers, Take Time
Chapter 13: Fight For A Happy Marriage
Chapter 14: Have Faith

Editorial Reviews

A wonderful, humorous read for anyone in a marriage or thinking of being in one. My wife, Estelle, and I had the good fortune of being married for sixty-five years. When anyone asked her about making a marriage last, she always replied, ‘Marry someone who can stand being with you.’”—Carl Reiner
 
“This book makes you realize how valuable laughter is in a marriage. Buy it for your spouse and add years to your relationship.”—Ben Stiller
 
“In her quest to get more humor into her family life, Modisett has written a book with great passion and huge heart. A delight for anyone who is, was, or might ever be married.”—Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Treasure 
 
“My wife and I are either killing or bombing in our marriage, and Dani Modisett’s book explains how that’s actually a good thing. Finally, some validation that a marriage between two insane people can be a beautiful thing.”—Jim Gaffigan, comedian
 
“Filled with humor, aspirational stories, and practical tips, Take My Spouse, Please helped me reflect on my most cherished relationship: my marriage. It made me feel hopeful about what it takes to stay connected, to grow, and most important, to keep laughing together—always.”—Mallika Chopra, author of Living with Intent
 
“A welcome relief from typical how-to marriage manuals. Highly recommended for everyone who wants more joy and more love in their relationship.”—Ken Page, author of Deeper Dating 
 
“Other than having sex, I can’t think of anything better for two people who love each to do than to laugh together. Modisett knows this and delivers a book with inspiring stories of happy marriages and highly doable advice to help couples of all kinds.”—Jill Soloway, writer and comedian
 
“For many Irish Catholics, the idea of leaving a marriage after vowing to stay is an idea that if acted upon will lead to eternal damnation. In Dani Modisett’s funny, insightful book, she provides wonderful examples of many marriages that last because of shared happiness and understanding rather than fear of a forever spent in hell.”—Mike O’Malley, producer, writer, and actor
 
“Having been married for twenty-seven years and writing about relationships for thirty-five years, I can see that Dani Modisett has captured the straight truth in this book. If you aren’t laughing through the years, you aren’t sticking together through the years. Sustaining a marriage is tough stuff, and this book, crammed with stories of resilience and humor, is proof that it is possible.”—Iris Krasnow, best-selling author of The Secret Lives of Wives
 
“My life’s work is all about comedy, love, and laughter. Dani manages to look at the most important love relationship we have—our marriage—and see it through the lens of a comedian, coming up with meaningful ideas that can’t help but provide results. What a book!”—Yakov Smirnoff, stand-up comedian and actor
 
“I got married six months to the day after I met my now-husband. Best and most irrational thing I have ever done. People laughed at me. Now I know why my marriage works so well—it’s because we were two physicians inadvertently following the rules of comedy. Dani nails it, prescribing strategies to keep relationships healthy, honest, and fun. Doctor’s orders: read this book!”—Dr. Cara Natterson, New York Times best-selling author of the American Girl advice book The Care and Keeping of You
 

From the Publisher