A Celebration of Married Life shows the ties that keep loving couples together in good times and bad. With a guest list that includes Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Nancy and Ronald Reagan, Queen Victoria, George Burns, and Secretary of State Colin Powell (to name just a few); poetic tributes from Homer, Shakespeare, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning; and wedding readings from the Bible and other religious traditions, it captures the magic and deep seated sense of commitment at the heart of married life.
A Celebration of Married Life shows that the institution of marriage is integral to our common humanity. There are heartwarming stories of courtship—including Mikhail Gorbachev's charming "Chasing Raisa" and Rosalyn Carter's story of meeting Jimmy for the first time. Jerry Stiller, Celine Dion, and others who have "broken the rules" describe how they overcame family expectations, age differences, and other obstacles to wed those that they love. In moving and amusing portraits, husbands and wives reveal the qualities and the quirks that make their mates endearing, and vignettes by Ruby Dee, Roy Rogers, and Walter Payton capture the special joys that children bring to a marriage. Long-married couples look back on a lifetime of love—and look forward to the future with hope. Lists of the ten best books, songs, movies, and sitcoms about marriage, along with evocative illustrations, round out this unusual, multifaceted look at marital bliss.

Filled with stories, memories, and musings, A Celebration of Married Life is not only an ideal gift for showers, weddings, and anniversaries, but is also the perfect way to explore the true meaning of marriage.

Romantic for us is normal life—cooking and buying groceries. I like to be at home with René. He knows me by heart.
—Celine Dion, married to René Angélil since 1994

I fall in love with her every day.
—Tom Hanks, married to Rita Wilson since 1988

Two things I felt sure of: first, that Ruth was bound to get married someday; and second, that I was the man she would marry.
—Billy Graham, married to Ruth Bell Graham since 1943