It was supposed to be a one-night stand. A couple of decades later, Ilene finds herself lying beside a middle-aged version of that same guy-now sporting a bald spot and nasal strip.

This memoir-presented as a collection of essays and cartoons-is the diary of a relationship between a nice Jewish girl from Austin, Texas and an Arab-American, former altar boy from Waco. Together, they've negotiated dozens of religious holidays (from both testaments), hundreds of uninspired meals, years of home improvement, along with mental illness, travel, and a mutually agreeable definition of romance. It's a take on what happily ever after really looks like when a couple of characters show up for each other, even when they would rather commit murder.