Review: We Take This Man by Candice Dow and Daaimah S. Poole

One man,
two wives...
can it last forever?

Dwight Wilson is a successful software executive. He has a beautiful family and is happily married to Tracey, a woman he's known since they were teenagers. They have two young daughters and live well in Jacksonville, FL. When he receives a big raise and a transfer to Maryland Tracey doesn't want to leave her life and her dream home in the south. Dwight is confident the family can successfully keep a long distance relationship but it isn't long before it begins to take a toll. Tracey is not trying very hard to make it work either. When he meets Alice at work he forms a friendship and then becomes attracted to her and all of the good qualities his wife doesn't have. But Alice refuses to become involved with a married man. When Tracey later gives Dwight an ultimatum, move back home or she will divorce him, Dwight has had enough and serves her with the papers himself. He now feels free to pursue a relationship with Alicia. His wife eventually realizes her mistake in forcing him to do what she demands and decides to contest the divorce at the last minute. But Dwight doesn't know that and marries Alicia. The woman who is now pregnant with his child.

This story is told in alternating chapters of narration between the two women. When I read the back cover I thought this was going to be more a comedy of errors and have a type of "chick lit" flavor to it. As I read it I realized that it had too much drama and heartache for that. Unfortunately it probably strikes very close to home for the many fractured families that are all too common now days. Although each of these characters appeared to be strong I felt they all were basically insecure. They weren't able to make decisions and stick with them. I can't imagine being so impulsive about such important events in my life. Although I could feel their pain I wanted to know more about these characters' backgrounds and what brought them here. I realize that I may not agree with their decisions but I did want to understand them. While it must have been heartbreaking to be in their dilemma I had a hard time having sympathy for these characters. I often found their actions and reactions to be unbelievable. It seemed so easy for them to flip flop in their relationships with Dwight. I did find the concept to be very interesting though. No matter what they decided to do, it would affect all of them for the rest of their lives.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Hatchette Books for an ARC of this book.

Each of these authors have written several successful novels. This is their first collaborative effort.
For more information about the authors -
Daaimah S. Poole's website
Candice Dow's MySpace Page

Publisher: Hatchette Books
Release date: 1/7/09
Pages:320
Price/format: $14.99/paperback
Type: African-American fiction