My Wife Said You May Want To Marry Me is a new memoir written by a widowed man detailing his life before, during, and after his wife passed away from ovarian cancer. While, this book isn’t my favorite and is definitely sad in nature, I think a lot of people will appreciate the raw honesty in this book. 

Rosenthal’s wife, Amy, was also a writer and much of this premise is in part due to her viral article published in the New York Times’ Modern Love column just a few days before she passed away from cancer, titled You May Want To Marry My Husband. In this column, she used her heartbreaking terminal illness mixed with some wit and humor to write a creative personal ad for her husband, urging him to go on and find love and happiness once she is gone. 

The article is a dark twist on death, a taboo subject some people are unable to openly discuss. Throughout this novel, we learn about Jason and Amy’s near perfect life and the true love the two of them shared. 

While parts of this book were more interesting and captivating than others, keep in mind it is a memoir. Like I said, it isn’t my favorite book but I appreciate the realness. Many parts hit way too close to home and reminded me much of my own mom’s experience, but I think it’s a beautiful message if you can get past the difficult nature of cancer and death.