Of course, when I think of Gabrielle Reece, I think of all we have in common. You know, Gabrielle Reece, the gorgeous beach volleyball player and model married to the hot surfer, living the dream life in Hawaii with her family?
I know what you're thinking: you see it too. Okay, fine, I can't keep a straight face at that either! But in Reece's new book, My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper (Scribner, $25), I have found a commonality with Reece, that centers around our imperfections.
Reece (along with co-writer Karen Karbo) offers practical advice about marriage and love and the reality involved therein. It's about what happens after the happily ever after. The most beautiful thing about Reece is how real she is; she's in touch with her emotions and is brutally honest about the rocky road that she traveled to get to being happy in her marriage.
I remember seeing the photos of her marriage to pro surfer Laird Hamilton, they were gorgeous, tanned, effortlessly happy by all appearances. Then, just a few short years later, Reece filed for divorce and the pair separated. Marriage is hard; chances are, we don't choose to marry someone who's just like we are, so we're starting a partnership with a person who is likely much different than we are, someone with quirks that drew us to them… and occasionally also repel us. We can't control anyone else's moods or actions. We have to learn how to manage in a marriage.
Thankfully, Reece and Hamilton both ended up putting work into their relationship and realized that they were happier together then they were apart. They put the work into it and made it through the hard times. I've always believed that it's through the hard times when the best lessons are learned.
Reece offers a refreshingly practical voice of clarity about what's become a truly complicated issue–relationships and marriage. Her tips for a happy marriage include "be short on memory, long on forgiveness." Easy in theory… maybe a little more difficult in practice. Yes, practical advice that takes a lot of hard work.
Because marriage takes hard work. That's something that Reece and I agree on, another commonality. For a peek inside an unexpectedly–refreshingly–imperfect life, pick up Reece's book.
