My Love Affair With Marriage

More than anything 8-year-old Zelma wants love. Only love will make her complete, the Mythology Sirens insist. But love is elusive when you are an outcast at school and a loner at home. Guided by the Sirens” hypnotic songs, Zelma tries to change herself into the kind of girl she thinks boys like – cute, weak, demurring. But there are consequences, counters Biology. Zelma has DNA, millions of neural pathways, and a vast array of chemical reactions inside her brain that make up her personality. Zelma has no choice but to be a battleground of conflicts between the Mythology Sirens and Biology as she struggles to find her own ground. Coming of age brings blood and creepy compliments. Her early sexual encounters confound her. Tragically, her best college friend Darya dies in childbirth. Zelma is comforted by marriage to Sergei, but it soon veers into domestic abuse. A second marriage to gender-bending Bo, though brief, deepens her understanding of herself and her place in the world. Zelma’s story represents a journey of all women who try to fit in – to be the best woman they could be according to standards they did not set. Narrated by Zelma from an older age, ”My Love Affair With Marriage” has a unique perspective on growing up female in traditional society.