Mergers and Acquisitions

I loved the absolute warmth of this book. Doty is a superb writer. I found it to be a really inclusive read. I so much wanted to know how things ended up with Doty and Michael as a couple.

Her descriptions of those couples she interviewed for the New York Times wedding announcements were captivating. You could tell that she was really interested in them as people.

There is a quote on page 166 where Doty acknowledged the criticisms of Times’ wedding announcements as being valid. That the couples are often getting credit for their parents’ achievements, etc. I wasn’t allowed to copy it as apparently it exceeded the word limit permitted for copying.

Cate Doty is named after her grandmother, Catherine on her mother's side of the family. The memoir she has written about her personal life and her work at the Times’ Society pages writing wedding announcements for the New York Times is wonderful. Her boss, Ira, is portrayed as a great character. I found him to be quite engrossing.

For obvious reasons, she changed the names and other identifying details of the brides, grooms, and their families. Her descriptions of the couples are sometimes poignant and very often amusing.

The New York Times didn’t make it easy for couples to get their wedding announcements printed and they didn't accept just anybody. The couple’s names, place of employment, economic status, etc all had to be proven with documentation or by fact checkers for the New York Times.

These were expensive weddings, all around the 40 thousand dollar or more mark in the early 2000s.

Cate in her early 20s would split entrees at restaurants with her buddy, saving most of her meagre money for desserts and wine. Good girl yourself, Cate, I thought!

Cate’s initial friendship with Michael, their fledgling relationship, their relationship issues and fractiousness, and finally their marriage form an interesting aspect running through this very engaging story. I loved the marriage proposal on the windswept Irish cliff. First I wondered if it was at the Cliffs of Moher, but then there was a reference to a ferry to the mainland so probably not. That she hated the engagement ring and made no bones about telling Michael so appealed to me. No schmaltz factor!

I rate this book highly and I recommend it to others.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is more a memoir of Cates life, rather than a tell all on the marriages she wrote about for the Times. I enjoyed the writing style of this quick & easy read. It was not what I expected based on the title but it was an interesting tale of Cate’s family & work life

Thanks @netgalley @catedoty & @harpercollinsaustralia for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book for an honest review.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I started this book. The stories about wedding notices in The Times were interesting, but then the story of the author’s life took over the story. Whilst that was interesting, it took away from the story. But then when the author had all the red flags prior to the wedding she still went through with it, so I’m not sure what lessons about love in the end.

This book will be available on January 5, 2022.

I enjoyed this book so much. Many of you know that I’m not really a fan of memoirs, however in recent years, I’ve been able to establish that it’s more the type of memoir, rather than the form itself. In short, I hate misery memoirs, particularly the ones that detail the many ways in which the author’s parents ruined their lives. I far prefer the more topic driven ones, such as this, where the memoir is woven into another sort of story, with some social and political history thrown in, whilst still maintaining a light and entertaining read. When an actual writer also writes that memoir, then I’m all for it. Mergers and Acquisitions is exactly this sort of book. Entertaining, well written, interesting, reflective, and above all (possibly most importantly) very funny.

I would never for the life of me have thought that so much research and fact checking went into writing up a wedding announcement. I have a journalism degree, so the ins and outs of the industry are not foreign to me, but even so, for a few lines announcing a wedding, there was a heck of a lot involved! I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the inner hub of The New York Times and following Cate’s career progression. Her own story of love and weddings was skilfully interwoven into the narrative about the wedding pages whilst also reflecting upon weddings within American society and what they symbolise as a construct separate from the marriage that is to come once the wedding is done.

Stand out moments from the book for me include the first ‘unofficial’ date with her own husband – very funny – and I was deeply moved by the telling of her maternal grandparents’ love story under the shadow of her grandmother’s demise and passing to dementia. You don’t have to be famous or damaged to write a memoir, but you do have to be a good writer and have something interesting to say – Cate Doty checks both these boxes!

Highly recommended for those seeking an entertaining read on a fresh topic.

In Mergers and Acquisitions, Cate Doty takes readers on a journey. While the book primarily focuses on her time on the Weddings desk at The New York Times, she also shares insights about her own love story, her childhood, her family and the rest of her career.

First, I liked the behind-the-scenes look at the Times' Wedding section. I honestly couldn't believe the amount of fact-checking phone calls that went into each announcement. I also liked that the book had layers and how she weaved her own personal stories and reflections into each chapter.

However, don't go into this book thinking it's going to be all warm and fuzzy and wedding-related, as there's definitely a pragmatic undertone. Doty does mention more than once the cost of weddings and the fact many of her announcements ended in divorce. This also stretched to her portrayal of her own love story. For me, it was missing the tenderness I expected.

Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for the ARC. All opinions are my own.