Dear Isabel, A Relationship Advice

MacTeenBooks; September 1, 2014

Dear Isabel,

After a break up, what is the best way to transition to being friends if that is what you both want? Is there a tried and true strategy? –Puzzled in Publicity

-Tried and True? Probably not. But the great news is that if friendship is what you really want, you will be friends! In my experience people usually get what they want—even if they want bad things. (Sometimes we do want things that aren’t great for us, even if we are not aware of it.) Being friends with ex’s is GOOD. I am friends with 98% of the guys I dated, and even if we are not best friends (because we don’t live close or just lost touch) we definitely would be friendly and have a good time at lunch or something. Time is a factor. You may need to not hang out for a while to break the romantic habits like holding hands. And time will also help with the classic problem of one person saying they want to be friends but really wanting to be together —that happens. It depends how serious the relationship was and if feelings are hurt too. You can even be friends with people who really hurt you, you just need time. My nutshell advice: Time.

Dear Isabel,

I’m dating a guy who says he doesn’t want to get serious, but the way he acts—texting all the time, making plans with me for a few nights each week, paying when we go out—suggests he *does* want to get serious. How do I find out if I trust what he says or how he acts? –Edgy in Editorial

-Someone once told me a great piece of advice and I have lived by it ever since. Men say what they mean. If this guy says he doesn’t want to be serious, he probably doesn’t. He probably doesn’t even think he is leading you on because he has already said what he wants (men can be bozos about that sometimes). I would just be straight with him, “So, you say you don’t want to be serious, but you are making me think you do by being in such close touch—it’s confusing me.” Asking straight forward questions is the way to go, but you have to believe the answers. I cannot tell you how much time I wasted on guys who flat out told me they didn’t want a relationship, but I didn’t believe them and thought the more time they spent with me, they would surely fall in love with me. They never did. My nutshell advice: Ask clearly one more time, then move on.

Dear Isabel,

I met a guy I really like, but he has a girlfriend. He says they are on a break, though, and he’s looking to see if he can be “swept off his feet” by someone else before deciding if he wants to return to her or move along to someone else. This is the first guy I’ve met in a long time who I felt a real connection to, and things were going so great until I find out about his situation with his girlfriend. I kind of feel like I should stop seeing him, but I don’t want to, and he keeps inviting me out to do things. What do you think? –Dubious in Digital Marketing

-WHAT??? Get away from that guy!! Step away. “Looking to see if he can be swept off his feet before he decides?” Yuck. My nutshell advice: Run, don’t walk. There are millions of men out there who will know what they want and it will be you.

Dear Isabel,

I was introduced to this guy by someone I work with, and I’ve hung out with him a few times and we’re set to go out again this weekend. But now my friend who fixed us up is acting kind of jealous, like she’s the one who likes him. What should I do? –Skeptical in School/Library Marketing

-Ask her. Don’t have “friend yuck” over a guy. Say, “Hey Laura (whatever), I am kind of dating Jason (whatever), but are you into him?” Always, always better to be open and clear about EVERYTHING. If you feel jealously from her, you are probably correct. Intuition is everything in this life. My nutshell advice: Just ask.

Dear Isabel,

I just found out that my boyfriend lied to me about something pretty serious. I thought he was single when we got together, but it turns out he was still dating his now-ex-girlfriend (I found this out from one of his friend’s girlfriends who is friends with his ex). I think we overlapped by a few weeks. My relationship with my boyfriend is really good except for this one thing, that makes me feel like it’s hard to trust him. If he lied about that, might be lying about other stuff, too? –Doubtful in Design

-Well, that’s tricky. I almost want to know how old you are before answering. In principle, lying is bad news bears and doesn’t bode well for the future. I don’t believe I have ever been in an overlap situation that lasted very long. Once I started dating someone I was SO INTO, and about a week in he said, “I think you are awesome, but I just met someone who I am NUTS about, like I’m in-love with her and so we have to stop seeing each other, even though it’s also really great.” I was crushed because he was amazing, but I respected that he fell in love with someone else and was so honest with me. My nutshell advice: Have a big talk, get it all out on the table and ask why he dated you gals at the same time. Maybe he is young and scared and didn’t have the guts to be honest. Maybe—maybe that can be looked over if it was just a mistake. People make mistakes, but check with your gut a ton. If it’s telling you he has a problem with being truthful and open, maybe time to move on.

Dear Isabel,

I’ve been with my boyfriend for five years and we have a home, business, and two dogs together. The only thing missing is actual marriage, which he says he doesn’t believe in a piece of paper when clearly he’s committed. I don’t think I’ll ever give up wanting to be married. Not sure where we go from here. I love him and our life, but I want a marriage.

-You answered your own question. You want marriage! First of all, marriage is not just a piece of paper. Didn’t we learn from the fight for gay marriage in this country that marriage is a lot more than a piece of paper? It’s a legal agreement that gives you many important rights, like getting to be in the hospital when/if your loved one is sick. No, no, no. It’s poop or get off the pot time. Five years is enough to know. My nutshell advice: Ultimatum (in the most loving and understanding way.) “Dude, I love you, I want to have children and be married to you. If you really don’t want to be married, I respect that, but it’s not what I want, so we are not ultimately living with the same goals, and that’s not good. Let’s decide on this soon, like before Thanksgiving. I love you, but it doesn’t make any sense for us to deeply want two different things.”

Dear Isabel,

My last relationship ended abruptly when my partner told me that he ‘loved me but was not in love with me.’ Shortly thereafter, my suspicions that he’d been cheating were confirmed. I am now in a new relationship with a wonderful guy, but I can’t shake the idea that someday he might follow down that same path of lack of infidelity, and it’s made me act crazy and jealous even when I logically know that there is nothing to worry about. How can I put the past behind me?—Morose in Marketing

-Well, a big part of myself is singing, “Let it go!” Honestly, people cheat and lie, they just do, and people get burned all the time, but so what? So you got burned, did it kill you? No, in fact you are now with a great guy. Lots and lots of people don’t cheat and lie and maybe this guy is one of those guys! Are you connected? Because that is maybe the more important part. I think that if you feel connected, really in tune with the other person, you are less likely to feel jealous. And it’s hard to feel connected, it takes work on both parts. I would stop worrying about if he is going to cheat or not and start concentrating on making your relationship vibrant and connected. Are you listening to him and he you? Do you go on adventures together (even small adventures like doing a hard crossword puzzle)? Do you make each other laugh? Do you have a lot of good sex? Do you dance in the kitchen? Are you living a fun and happy life with him, and taking on the challenges together as a team? Ask yourself those questions. Advice: People cheat and lie a lot, but I think they will less if you are in a connected relationship, so put your focus on that

Starry Night

Information and reviews for Starry Night

Released date: September 2, 2014

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Audio c.d. and paperback book not yet available

Reviews

The New York Times October 3, 2014

Wren Noorlander, who has a sweet naïveté that often seems younger than her 15 years, occupies a sophisticated, insulated sort of Manhattan existence. She attends a private girls school on the Upper East Side. Her father is the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, her 10-year-old sister is a TV chef and their big, happy family resides in a five-story brownstone. Before Wren, who is dyslexic and a talented artist, meets Nolan, her focus is on family, the friends she’s grown up with and working on her application to an art program in St.-Rémy, France, next to the asylum where van Gogh painted “Starry Night.” But after Wren and Nolan kiss at a museum party, everything changes.

“Starry Night” is a love story, though it’s not the kind you might expect: It’s laden with the rawness, emotional bewilderment and bad decision-making that come with infatuation and heartbreak, all the more intense when it’s experienced for the first time. As Wren explains wistfully on the first page, “I am not sure why the person that I was in love with ended up not wanting to be in love with me anymore.” Though the life she leads is one of privilege, she faces a common problem: the threat of losing herself over a boy. Gillies handles this novel about finding one’s strength and growing up deftly and evocatively.

Elliot's Beard

"When I got the part, I thought after reading the script, 'Wow. This is a really stressful job,' because the bulk of what you're dealing with are women and children. So, I asked [creator] Dick Wolf if I could have four children instead of three. I gave Elliot what I had built in my head. The first part of which was a girlfriend who got knocked up, so I had to marry her to make it legitimate because I'm a good Catholic and I loved her. Then the last two kids weren't planned, and they're twins! I found it funny, but I also went, 'Man, this is... a lot.' I kept wanting to dollop on top of Stabler. He's a guy who handles pressure."

"Elliot's beard, it's going to get its own credit [on the show]. I'll say this. I thought from the comments it was rather controversial, but it was this idea of a physical manifestation of the trauma that he'd gone through. Maybe him wanting to cover up or hide or be someone else or go away from who he was when he lost his wife, and then coming back. So I just thought about it and came up with it."

Christopher Meloni, People magazine 2025

Starry Night Scrapbook

 Various articles concerning "Starry Night" book

The book was originally going to be called Beside Me but was changed during the rewrite/edit of the book 

Publisher’s Weekly: Rights Report

August 25, 2011

Joy Peskin at Viking Children’s Books has bought world rights to Beside Me, a YA novel by Isabel Gillies, author of the bestselling memoir Happens Every Day. Set in the high society of New York City’s art world and the hip downtown music scene, Beside Me tells of the soaring highs of first love and crushing lows of first heartbreak. Publication is scheduled for summer 2013. Bill Clegg at William Morris Entertainment brokered the deal. Peskin said she acquired the book after reading Happens Every Day. "Even though it’s a memoir about divorce, written for adults," she said, "for some reason I thought, This author could write an awesome young adult novel. I guess it's because Happens Every Day was really a love story—the love she felt for her husband, and the heartbreak she experienced when he left her for another woman. There was a purity to Isabel’s view of love, and I thought that would translate well to a love story about teenagers." Peskin said she e-mailed Gillies to ask if she had ever thought about writing for teens. "She wrote right back! The very same day. And she said that she was in the midst of finishing her second memoir but the next thing on her to-do list was to write a YA novel. So she and I and her agent met for lunch and she pitched the idea to me."

Exclusive cover reveal: 'Starry Night' by Isabel Gillies

By: Joyce Lamb; May 21, 2014

HEA is thrilled to reveal the cover of Isabel Gillies' YA romance Starry Night, which comes out Sept. 2. What Isabel has to say about the cover: "I'm not sure there is any time more exciting, terrifying or fun than the time when a designer is conceiving of the jacket for your book. Who doesn't judge a book by its cover? I certainly do — it's the porthole, the introduction, the first look. What I love most about this cover is, it feels like what I very much hope the personality of the book is. This cover is generous and free. The bright blue reminds me of endless sky, or of a wide ocean. It's expansive like the imagination. When I look at it, I pretend someone said to the designer, "OK — this book is about falling in love for the first time, New York City, art and growing up — GO!" And in one inspired shot this is what came out of her. I love how Saint Remy shadows the Manhattan skyline, I love the swirls and the stars, and I LOVE that it is a watercolor. It's a friendly cover that I believe I would be drawn to on a shelf. It might even make me open up the book and start reading."

Here's the blurb about Starry Night (courtesy of publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux):

Sometimes one night can change everything. On this particular night, Wren and her three best friends are attending a black-tie party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of a major exhibit curated by her father. An enormous wind blasts through the city, making everyone feel that something unexpected and perhaps wonderful will happen. And for Wren, that something wonderful is Nolan. With his root-beer-brown Michelangelo eyes, Nolan changes the way Wren's heart beats. In Isabel Gillies's Starry Night, suddenly everything is different. Nothing makes sense except for this boy. What happens to your life when everything changes, even your heart? How much do you give up? How much do you keep?

Find out more at www.isabelgillies.com. 

A Year and Six Seconds: A Love Story

Information and reviews for A Year and Six Seconds: A Love Story

Released date: August 2, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion

Audio C.D. is available (read by Karen White)

Paperback not yet available 

Reviews

More magazine July/August 2011

Swept Away: More's Summer reading spectacular!

Moving back in with Mom and Dad

Undoubtedly there are worse things in life than having to set up post-divorce camp in your parents' apartment, as Gillies discovers in this engaging memoir, a follow-up to 2009's Happens Every Day. Her observations about single motherhood are sharper now, and she charms while describing her precarious perch on the higher rungs of the Manhattan social ladder (with only $524 in the bank and borrowed shoes for a first date). When love comes her way, Gillies is shrewd enough not to drift into fantasyland: She knows that she's holding her golden new life together with a mysterious glue made from love, persistence and plain old good luck. *Elaina Richardson

 USA Today August 18, 2011

*** (out of four)

This new memoir from the actress best known for playing the wife of Det. Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit continues the tale of her broken marriage and its aftermath. Isabel Gillies began her story in 2009 with Happens Every Day. AYear and Six Seconds is about starting over. She takes a seemingly worn-out subject — a wife dumped by her husband — and makes it feel new again. Her sincerity and honesty are gateways to revelations about how one woman and her two young children march forward toward a happy life. Readers will take away a key lesson: Do your best for yourself and your family every day. Gillies bares her soul. The payoff: readers will cheer when she meets a sweet new man. -Carol Memmott

My Mom Jayne

Nancy Jarecki, Isabel, Mariska Hargitay, Ali Wentworth, and Ashley McDermott attended Mariska's directorial documentary My Mom Jayne during the Tribeca Film Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 13, 2025.

Working Together

Isabel with Sophia Meloni, working on a project. From Christopher Meloni’s Instagram 

Isabel acting as a mother in this upcoming project. From Sophia Meloni’s Instagram 

 

Stabler Had a Heartbreaking Conversation with Kathy’s Grave on the Organized Crime Finale

Worried about his younger brother and youngest son, Detective Elliot Stabler turned to his late wife for comfort. 

NBC.com By Ethan Sacks May 16, 2024, 

Detective Stabler has struggled to connect with his family recently, except for one person — his late wife.

In an emotional gravesite visit that bookended the Season 4 finale of Law & Order: Organized Crime, it was revealed that even death hadn’t severed that connection. With his brother, Joe Jr. (Michael Trotter), trapped on a dangerous undercover mission, and his relationship with his son, Eli, strained further by some bombshell news, Stabler (Christopher Meloni) sought solace at Kathy’s grave.

“I sometimes feel I don’t know where I am, as if the world and everything in it has become unrecognizable,” Stabler confided to her tombstone amid a series of flashbacks of painful moments including the car bombing that would ultimately claim her life*, as well as the deaths of Organized Crime Control Bureau detectives Jamie Whelan and Samir Bashir.

“Kids. Grandkids. My brothers. Ma. Unrecognizable," Stabler continued. "It’s like I’m in a world that’s changed and I’m trying, but..."

Fans have seen just how much Kathy Stabler’s death has devastated Detective Stabler over the first four seasons of Law Order: Organized Crime.

Introduced to audiences way back in Season 1, Episode 1 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), the mother of Stabler's five children, had been a fixture in his life through ups and downs of more than 30 years of marriage. Though they had previously separated, the high school sweethearts had reconciled during Stabler’s 10-year stretch of working in Italy••.

[*note: there were no car bombing flashbacks of Kathy]

[••note: Elliot and Kathy were already reconciled way before moving to Italy]

How did Kathy Stabler die?

Returning to New York City from Italy for an award banquet proved deadly for Kathy Stabler. In the Law & Order: OC series premiere, Kathy succumbed to injuries she received in a car bombing intended for Detective Stabler. 

Though Stabler ultimately took down Richard Wheatley, the man responsible, his wife’s murder is what drove him to stay in New York and join the NYPD's OCCB, run by Sgt. Ayanna Bell (Danielle Moné Truitt).

But as valuable as the work is, Elliot has been struggling with Kathy’s loss, and to connect with their youngest son, Eli (Nicky Torchia). Stabler has also had a tough time in his other familial relationships — including his brothers and mother.

“I know how to do my job and all the things that come with that,” Stabler continued in his monologue to his dead wife. “It’s all the other stuff, the stuff that makes up life, I’m just lost.”

“Feels like the world is spinning so fast and I’m barely hanging on as I watch everything I once had and loved, still love, fly away.”

Eli Stabler's bombshell news was revealed

During the visit to his wife's grave in Season 4, Episode 13 of Organized Crime, Detective Stabler had a lot to catch her up on.

Eli, who returned home in the prior episode, had a succession of life changes recently, and seemed reluctant to tell his father.

Stabler was among the last in the family to find out that the reason Eli dropped out of college and returned to New York City with girlfriend Becky (Kiaya Scott) was to become a police officer like his father. That revelation didn't go over well at yet another tense Stabler family dinner.

After getting the news, Stabler asked Eli to accompany him out on the patio to help with the grilling — and to lecture him.

“What I’m saying is, it’s just changed a lot since when I started," Stabler said of police work. "It’s way more dangerous.”

But Eli shot back, “Statistically, it’s a lot safer.”

Stabler wasn't ready to give in, adding, “I get the statistics. I just don’t think it’s — I don’t think it’s for you.”

“You don’t believe in me,” huffed Eli after his father tried to talk him out of the decision.

“That’s not what I said, I believe in you, and I love you,” his father answered.

“Jesus, dad, I want you to support my choices," Eli stressed.

“I support your choices, but if I see a mistake, I got to give voice to that," Stabler responded.

It shouldn’t be a total surprise that Eli would be the next Stabler to join the police department, since he's had a lifelong connection to the NYPD, having been delivered with the help of his father’s then-partner, Detective Olivia Benson, in the back of an ambulance during Season 9 of SVU.

Stabler seemed semi-serious about threatening to punch his brother Randall (Dean Norris) in the face when he took Eli’s side.

Why doesn't Det. Elliot Stabler want his son Eli to be a cop?

“Elliott, your son wants to be a cop like you, you should be proud of him,” said Stabler family matriarch, Bernadette (Ellen Burstyn).

“I am proud of him, I just don’t want to see him get killed,” Det. Stabler answered his mom.

“Yeah, welcome to my world,” retorted his mother, who was married to a troubled cop for many years.

An urgent call from the OCCB interrupted the family showdown — at least for the time being.

“Again?,” an exasperated Eli complained about his father’s abrupt exit.

“You want to be a cop? This is what it looks like,” answered Elliot.

Eli Stabler's girlfriend is pregnant

The youngest Stabler didn’t even get the opportunity to tell his father about his other piece of news that others in the family had already learned: that his girlfriend Becky is pregnant.

But when Stabler returned to his apartment early the next morning after work, where Eli and Becky are staying, he revealed just how good a detective he is when he asked his son how far along his girlfriend was.

“Ginger tea: a dead giveaway,” Stabler said. “That’s what I used to pour your mom when she was in that state.”

What Stabler didn't yet reveal to Eli yet was how he felt about him becoming a father. Those feelings were saved for his most trusted confidante.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Elliot told his late wife at her grave at the end of the episode, with a huge smile on his face. “Guess who’s having a baby?”

Starbucks Scrapbook

All articles were from February 24, 2009

Photographed by Jason McDonald

 Starbucks Selects "Happens Every Day" by Isabel Gillies - to be Published by Scribner - as Next Book in Starbucks Book Program

Starbucks announced today the next title in its book program: Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story, by Isabel Gillies, which will be published on March 24, 2009 by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Gillies, known for her recurring role as Detective Stabler’s wife on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has written an extraordinarily candid and compulsively readable memoir about coming to terms with the collapse of her marriage.  Featured as Vogue’s “Up Front” in its February 2009 issue, the book will be offered at more than 7,000 Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and bookstores across the U.S. beginning on March 24, 2009.

 “Isabel has exceptionally bared her soul on the page,” said Susan Moldow, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Scribner. “You cannot read Happens Every Day without feeling a sense of identification, even if you have never been in Isabel’s exact situation.”

Isabel Gillies had a wonderful life—a handsome, intelligent, loving husband; two glorious toddlers; a beautiful house; the time and place to express all her ebullience, affection, and optimism. Suddenly, that life was over. Her husband, Josiah, announced that he was leaving her and their two sons. Happens Every Day is Gillies’ raw and urgent account of the events that transpired, and it uncannily reads like an intimate confession from a best friend.

“Happens Every Day is about the end of my first marriage,” said Gillies. “But while I was writing, I found that I had learned something about coping with unexpected crisis, and about loving your life even when it’s falling apart. No matter who you are, where you live, or what you do, everyone has to navigate something sad or challenging. It would be great if this book could help someone else in trouble, even a little bit. I loved writing Happens Every Day, and am so honored that it was chosen to be a Starbucks book.”

“Isabel Gillies describes the unexpected demise of her marriage with astonishing candor,” said Nan Graham, Vice President, Editor-in-Chief of Scribner. “She’s heartbroken, she’s livid, she’s fiercely protective of her children–and she manages to be oddly exhilarating. The message she delivers in her instantly engaging voice is that people are resilient. You can start over. That happens every day, too.”

“This book provides a real life lesson that we can all relate to,” said Chris Bruzzo, vice president of brand content, Starbucks. “In the most relatable of words, and with a contagious writing style that exudes her wit and sense of humor, Isabel teaches us that some of our worst tragedies are actually moments that can bring about positive change and personal growth.”

For additional information about Happens Every Day, please visit www.simonandschuster.com.

About the Author

Isabel Gillies, known for her recurring television role as Detective Stabler’s wife in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and for her cinematic debut in the cult film Metropolitan, graduated from New York University with a BFA in film. She lives in Manhattan with her second husband, her two sons, and her stepdaughter.

About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com

About Scribner

Scribner is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., part of CBS Corporation. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic and multi-media formats. Its divisions include the Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

'L&O' star's memoir to be featured at Starbucks

Associate Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A memoir by Isabel Gillies, who plays Kathy Stabler on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," will be the next book featured at Starbucks stores around the country.

Gillies' "Happens Every Day," which tells of the collapse of her marriage to DeSales Harrison, will be published March 24 by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc.

In a statement released Tuesday by Starbucks, Gillies calls her book a story of "loving your life even when it's falling apart." Gillies, 39, is now married to Wall Street Journal reporter Peter Lattman.

Previous Starbucks picks include Helene Cooper's "The House at Sugar Beach" and Mitch Albom's "For One More Day."

NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

Starbucks Picks Gillies’ ‘Happens Every Day’

Written by Rachel Deahl; Publishers Weekly

Continuing its tradition of featuring inspirational memoirs, Starbucks has selected Isabel Gillies's Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story, which Scribner is releasing on March 24. Gillies, who has a recurring minor role as Elliot Stabler's wife on the NBC show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, chronicles the collapse of her marriage in the book. Starbucks's push will now see the title, which is also appearing in this month's Vogue, featured in more than 7,000 of its stores.

“Law and Order“ Actress’s Memoir to Premiere at Starbuck’s

Written by John Winn; The Celebrity Cafe

It’s a colorful life for Isabel Gillies. The “Law and Order: SVU“ actress has made a career playing characters as diverse as a born-again murderer, a Wall Street broker, and most notably Kathy Stabler. So it comes to no surprise that she has a memoir in her.

According to the AP, Isabel Gillies, 39, will publish a memoir "Happens Every Day". And like most memoirs, the book will premiere in Starbucks.

In a statement released by the coffee store chain, Gillies described her book as "A story of loving your life even though it is falling apart."

The book, about Gillies marriage to DeSales Harrison, chronicles her move to the Midwest--and her eventual falling out with Harrison. Gillies is currently married to Wall Street Journal reporter Peter Lattman.

"Happens Every Day" is being published by Simon and Schuster. The book premieres March 24.

Divorce memoir with your low-fat latte? Starbucks' new book pick

Written by Carolyn Kellogg; L.A. Times

Starbucks, which has wisely concluded that books and coffee go together, has selected a new book pick. OK, so let me clarify — the coffee chain has decided that a book and coffee go well together, featuring a single book in more than 7,000 stores. Beginning in March, that book will be "Happens Every Day" by Isabel Gillies.

Gillies has written a memoir about the collapse of her first marriage. A thirtysomething mother with bone structure to die for, Gillies is best known as an actress — she plays the wife of Det. Stabler on "Law & Order: SVU" and appeared in the film "Metropolitan."

In the first pages of her book — I'm using Amazon's look-inside feature, because I don't have an advance copy — she writes about her grandparents living down the street from John Cheever, her father running for New York City Council (he didn't win), her grandmother looking like Katharine Hepburn. She writes that her husband "looks like Adonis."

This all adds up, I think, to a fairly unusual life. But Susan Moldow, executive vice president and publisher of Scribner, says, "You cannot read 'Happens Every Day' without feeling a sense of identification, even if you have never been in Isabel’s exact situation." Probably for the best, for how many of us have?

There is one person who was close — her ex-husband. In the book he's called Josiah, but he has another name, according to the Weddings section of the New York Times, which covered their marriage. The Adonis-like DeSales Harrison is an English professor. But he does poetry, not nonfiction, so he probably won't be adding "Happens Every Day" to his syllabus.

The gossipy, student-review website Rate My Professor.comthinks he's dreamy, if difficult — he gets a 9 for "hotness" and a 2.7 for "easiness." The big question is, come March, where will he be getting his coffee?

The Jinx Part Two

Peter Lattman and Isabel at HBO's The Jinx Part Two premiere at Hudson Yards & Katsuya on April 28, 2024 in New York City.

For more photos, visit Enchanting Isabel Gillies Photo Gallery.

 

Law & Order: SVU 25th Season Party

Isabel at Edge at Hudson Yards on January 16, 2024 to celebrate Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's 25th season.

For more photos, visit Enchanting Isabel Gillies Photo Gallery