Q&A with Lisa Cheek

  

 

Lisa Cheek is the author of the new memoir The Big Day: Saying "I Do" Only to Discover I Didn't. She also has written the memoir Sit, Cinderella, Sit. She lives in Los Angeles. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write The Big Day?

 

A: My later-in-life wedding day took a turn when I found out after the ceremony during the reception that we weren’t actually married . It’s a wedding story I hadn't heard before and makes for an amusing tale, I’m told.

 

Also, I’m a late bloomer when it comes to relationships. It took me a long time learning how to be in a long-term partnership. In addition to the wedding day, the memoir includes previous relationships that show why it took me so long to commit.

 

Q: The author Steven Rowley called the book a “hilarious, thoughtful, and modern look at marriage, partnership, family, and most importantly--self.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I’m flattered. Steven is one of my favorite writers, so when he said “yes” to blurbing my book I was super excited. And, when I read what he said about The Big Day, he made me cry. Honored. very honored to have his words on my cover.

 

Q: How would you describe your relationship with your husband?

 

A: It’s the most supportive relationship I’ve ever been in. He loves me for me. He may not always agree with me, but he is always there for me.

 

When I’m around him, I never feel like I need to [please] someone else, which is how I spent so much of my life. I was a people pleaser. Being older and wiser now, I know who I am. And I like who I am.

 

Q: What impact did it have on you to write the book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

 

A: I learned so much about myself and my family. A successful marriage was never modeled for me in my family of origin.

 

I hope readers take away love and compassion for themselves and others. Seeing ourselves in a book brings about connection and knowing that we aren’t alone in the world. That to me is the greatest gift.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I just started a third memoir about 10 days of my life.

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Thank you for featuring me today and sharing The Big Day with your friends and readers.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Lisa Cheek.