The Big Day: Saying I Do Only to Discover I Didn't - Another Mostly True Memoir by Cheek, Lisa

For fans of Sloane Crosley, a sharp, funny memoir from the acclaimed author of Sit, Cinderella, Sit about love, commitment, and whether she's ready for marriage right before turning fifty.

For years, Lisa Cheek has believed long-term commitment isn't in her genes. Her romantic history has followed a familiar pattern: date a lot and widely, but never settle down. When anyone has wanted to marry her, she's run away. So even she is surprised when, at forty-nine, she finally says "yes" to a proposal and commits fully to her boyfriend, Big Johnson. But when she finds out on their wedding day, after the vows, that they aren't actually married, she hesitates. Should she take this as a sign to run while she still can?

In The Big Day, Lisa Cheek invites us inside one unforgettable wedding day, with its attending hilarity, chaos, and unexpected turns. As everything begins to unravel she looks back on a lifetime of relationships--her own and those of her family and friends--searching for patterns, meanings and the truth about what makes love last.

Witty, unflinching and deeply relatable, The Big Day is a memoir about late-in-life love, marriage, and the complicated question so many people face: When it really matters, do you stay or do you go?

Author: Lisa Cheek
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 09/22/2026
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9798896363064

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2026

About the Author
Lisa Cheek is an author and former film and television editor known for her humorous, candid writing about relationships and identity. Her debut memoir, Sit, Cinderella, Sit, was a People Magazine pick, an Amazon bestseller, a Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist, and was named one of Zibby Media's Most Anticipated Books of 2025. Her latest memoir, The Big Day, is a funny, unflinching look at love, marriage, and the complicated question of whether to stay or walk away. You can find her musings at One Minute Thoughts From A Pink Head on Substack. She lives in Los Angeles with two dogs, two cats, and her husband, Big Johnson, where she has several scripts in various stages of development while working on her next memoir.