Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage by Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn Brown

Anthony and I have been watching Big Love.  Of course, I've heard of the show before and I had even watched two episodes.  One with my friend, Chris, who watched Big Love as HBO originally released them.  She was such a fan that we watched an episode in the middle of a visit so she wouldn't miss anything.  That was fine, but watching one episode in the middle of season three or so also didn't do much to get me hooked in.  Her enthusiasm about it, though was enough that I got the first season from the library and Anthony and I gave it a go.  This was a while ago...I don't really remember exactly how long ago.  For whatever reason, it didn't stick.  Recently, though it came to my attention again and we gave it another go.  We got hooked around episode three.  We're currently on the second season and I'm starting to get a little jaded by the constant crisis situation, so I don't know if we'll keep on or not.  Anyway.  All this is to say that when I was at the library and walked by a shelf with Becoming Sister Wives on display, I picked it up on a whim.

This is the non-fictional story of four sister wives and their husband.  In the book, we hear from each of the five of the adults in the relationship.  We hear about each of the courtships, some ups and downs of the marriages, living arraignments, parenting and generalities of how the family works.  I also discovered that they have a reality TV show called Sister Wives that was on TLC.

I found the book to be a rather engaging read, but I also really like reading about how different families work, so it appeals to my interests.  I did think a lot of it was rather superficial, which is to be expected in a short book where five different (but intertwined) people are telling their stories.  It seems, also, that while they're trying to be open, they're also protecting the privacy of their family to some extent, which is understandable, but also doesn't make for true depth.  I liked it enough that I've put Sister Wives on hold at the library.  I'm curious to see these people in action and see more about who's who.  I don't know that I'll watch the whole of the two seasons, though.  From the book, I also get the impression that there is a fair amount of drama on the show.

If you're curious from a sociological point of view about how families work or in polygamy specifically, you'll probably find this book interesting.  If those topics don't have any particular appeal, you won't be sucked in by this book in my opinion.  I found it a short, interesting, kind of fluff read.