Publication Date: April 2, 2024
What if you could take a vacation from your marriage? A couple decides to give it a shot in this fun, adventurous novel by Lian Dolan, the popular author of The Sweeney Sisters and Lost and Found in Paris.
After twenty-three years of building careers and raising kids together, Jason and Nicole Elswick are ready for a break from their daily lives. Jason has spent years planning his dream sabbatical—ditching work for a nine-month-long motorcycle trip through South America. Problem is, that’s Jason’s dream, not Nicole’s. After years working retail and parenting in Portland, Nicole craves the sun of the Southwest and the artistic community in Santa Fe, where she wants to learn jewelry design.
A chance encounter at a dinner party presents a surprising—and intriguing—way out of their dilemma. Over a little too much wine, Jason and Nicole’s married neighbors sing the praises of the 500 Mile Rule: their policy of enjoying themselves however they wish—and with whomever they wish—when they’re temporarily far apart. It seems like the perfect solution: nine months pursuing their own adventures—with a bit of don’t-ask-don’t-tell—and then a return to their shared lives. It’ll be a sabbatical from their marriage as well as their day jobs.
As Jason bikes his way across a continent and Nicole reclaims the art she’s long neglected, they discover the pleasures and pitfalls of the 500 Mile Rule, confronting temptations of all kinds, uncomfortable truths about themselves, and gaining new perspective on their partnership.
But all sabbaticals come to an end…then what?
Jason and Nicole Elswick have successfully checked all the boxes as a couple. After more than two decades together and their children out of the nest, they face the challenge of what’s next.
Author Lian Dolan delivers an intriguing premise for the couple in The Marriage Sabbatical. They learn that their neighbors have a Five Hundred Mile Rule, which states they can do anything with anyone while traveling separately.
Up for grabs is nine months of their lives. Rather than joining Jason on a nine-month motorcycle trip in Patagonia, Nicole wants to attend a jewelry-making program in Santa Fe.
As the storyline progresses, with the main characters on separate continents, they test the limits of their newly discovered freedom with interesting results. The author uses flashbacks within the main story to build the foundation for the couple’s relationship over the past two decades.
The Marriage Sabbatical serves up a fascinating experiment that tests the boundaries of a couple’s vows.
Lian Dolan is a writer and talker. She is the author of Lost and Found in Paris, The Sweeney Sisters, Helen of Pasadena, and Elizabeth the First Wife, and is a regular columnist for Pasadena Magazine. She’s written regular columns for O, The Oprah Magazine, Working Mother Magazine and Pasadena Magazine. She is also the co-creator of Satellite Sisters, an online community for women, and for many years was a host of their award-winning and top-rated talk show/podcast of the same name, which she produced with her four sisters. She graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California with a degree in Classics and now lives in Pasadena with her husband and grown sons.
