6 Books That Explore "Marriage Vacations"

In The Intermission, Elyssa Friedland asks, "Would you walk away from your marriage in order to save it?" When Cass asks Jonathan, her husband of five years, for a six-month break from their marriage to determine if the life they built is the one they want to keep living, neither one could have expected the results.

In Marian Keyes's The Break, it's the husband's decision to take a six-month break from his marriage. Will this break improve their relationship or tear them apart?

Marriage Vacation by Pauline Turner Brooks is a novel created within the television series Younger on TVLand. Pauline Turner Brooks is the fictional wife (ex-wife?) of Charles Brooks, the publisher of Empirical and Millennium Press. The novel is about a woman who takes a vacation from her marriage in order to explore all the areas and passions of her life she gave up in order to be a devoted wife and mother. The couple (in the show) are now getting a divorce, so the vacation appears to be lasting a little longer than originally planned. We'll have to wait to see how things develop between this couple on the show, but you can dive into this story without needing any background from the TV series. (However, the show is definitely worth watching!)

The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn further proves that six months seems to be the magic number for a hiatus from your marriage. Lucy and Owen, two ambitious New Yorkers, decide to follow the suggestion of their friends who completed just such an experiment toward positive results.

In Leave Me by Gayle Forman, Maribeth Klein has just suffered a heart attack and yet still seems to be invisible to her family at home. Frustrated with how she is treated, Maribeth makes the decision to take a hiatus from her role as mother and wife. One day she packs a bag and leaves. Her journey is both eye-opening and inspiring. Sometimes you need to leave in order to find your way home.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella does not deal with taking a break from marriage or family but instead trying to infuse a stale marriage with some excitement. A couple that have been married for 10 years are suddenly faced with the realization that they could conceivably be together for another 60-plus years. If they are going to survive that much time together, they had better start making it interesting. But maybe some relationships can't take that many surprises. You can't go wrong with Sophie Kinsella for an enjoyable read!