13. In The Heat of the Noche

With the future of his new job in jeopardy, Brad enlists his friends to help save the failing kids' gym. Max's concerns over his endless texting lead him and Penny into addiction to a powerful - and illegal - cough syrup.

14. The Incident

A hairstylist's gossip revives a dormant family feud between Alex and Jane. As Dave looks for a new recipe to jump-start his flagging sandwich business, his food truck is stolen.

15. The Straight Dope

In order to get good basketball tickets, Max avoids telling a woman who's interested in him that he's gay. Alex's efforts to be smarter pose a threat to Dave and Jane.

I jumped so fast LMAO. I just purchased it. My EV collection is complete!

10. The Ex Factor

>Brad looks to avoid dinner with Jane's college ex, until he learns that it's a woman. Dave and Alex are smitten with Max's mysterious new roommate; Penny joins her new boyfriend's circle of friends.

11. The Marry Prankster

>Max vows to play a series of vengeful pranks on his friends, threatening to derail a big surprise planned by Penny's boyfriend, Pete (guest star Nick Zano). Meanwhile, Jane worries when Brad takes a new job at a kids' gym.

12. Our Best Friend's Wedding

>When Jane wants to plan the wedding of Penny's dreams, Pete admits that he'd rather elope.

7. No-Ho-Ho

>When the gang finds out Jane lied about being born on Christmas Day and never got her own celebration, they throw a Christmas-free birthday party for her.

8. Ordinary Extraordinary Love

>Penny enacts an all-out publicity bonanza when a pop star shops at Alex's store. Brad and Dave try to make some home repairs, and Max needs to get out on the town.

9. Fowl Play/Date

>Penny and Brad struggle to cover their role in the accidental death of Alex’s racist pet parrot. Jane and Dave vie to be matchmakers for Max.

I just finished the book, and I call it crazy, but I've been just crying nonstop. LMAO.

The reason why I decided to read it is that the movie is coming out, but I have had it on my to-read list for over a year. I am also scared because the person who recommended it and other reviews have said it scared them shitless.

For context, I have lost two people closest to me in the past three years, and the way this book ended just broke my heart.

I just kept relating this to my current experience: how no matter how much I try to shove the grief in the closet and barely let it creep at night because I don't want to feel it. It's scary, and to let it in means accepting that they are gone, not just the physical way but more than that. Like the end to me felt like saying yes to feel all of it, even if it's terrifying, even if I feel like I am watching myself from afar, like the old me isn't here anymore because it isn't. I have been changed deeply by those losses. It also reminded me that as a 34-year-old, I hadn't experienced grief like this with the understanding and heaviness of what it means, the reality of what it looks like. I know this interpretation makes no sense, but it's how I see it now.

Those instances of others seeing the other mommy relate to me being unable to keep it tucked away and spilling into my everyday life, outside the confines of my room where it somehow feels safe, to an extent, to feel the pain. Like no matter how much I try to avoid it, there's no escaping it, and I have to face it.

If you read this, thank you for listening to my rambling. This book made me so sad, but I loved it, and it is definitely one of my favorite ones.

Our relationship has always been horrible, since I was a child - mind you that he and my mother were never dating or together. However, I was still forced to go with him every other weekend. He has emotionally abused me endlessly throughout my life, and once I became an adult, I went NC a couple of times but would often speak to him again because some life-altering event happened and I didn't want to worry him without knowing if I was alive or not. (COVID and a CAT 5 hurricane). He despises my mother for reasons I will never understand, and I had to pay the price.

Anyway, like I mentioned, it's been 4 years since I decided to cut him off. I don't want him to know about me, and I want no updates on him - because I don't care. Over the past four years, he has continuously tried to bypass all my boundaries, blocks, and everything you can think of. I have made it clear that I do NOT want to have a relationship with him. The past six months have been a nightmare because now he has resorted to contacting every single family member I am close with to get them to speak to me about him, and begging for me to call him. (I should clarify, in my culture you stick with your family even if they literally try to murder you because it's family and it's the way it goes).

Before, I would just kindly tell them that it was my choice and he wasn't a good father. However, for the last six months, I decided, okay? Let me just tell them in excruciating detail every single thing he did, not just when I was a child but into my adulthood. Some have apologized to me, saying they won't ever bring it up or intervene. Agree that I made the best choice for me. Others just continuously send me his Facebook posts about me because he obviously is playing the victim. I just stopped reacting or responding when they send those things, and I think they took the hint.

It wasn't until this week that I had had enough of him doing all this. What made it worse is that out of ALL people, he reached out to my mom. The one person he hates the most, and started bothering HER to ask about me and try to get her to speak to me. She did say, "She's alive, and that's all you will get," and moved on. She told me because we are extremely close and she is the one who has supported me through all this, especially in the beginning when I felt guilty. But now, I feel this rage within me because why are you going to these lengths when I have made it clear I want nothing to do with you? This continues to show me that you have NOT changed at all. Then you go bother my mom, who has dealt enough with you being a horrible person to her.

I have been wanting to just put him on blast on Facebook since I KNOW someone will show him. I have this urge to just post every little detail about what he has done to me and tell people that if he comes to them playing the victim, to please not speak to me because that's just done. My mother tells me to continue to act unbothered and not acknowledge his existence because he is just wanting to elicit any type of reaction from me. I thought about breaking the NC to just go off and tell him to stop, but that has never worked before.

I am also just fed up, exhausted, and like over it because even when we have no contact, he has managed to make himself the bigger issue even through my grief. (I lost my grandmother last year) And I know it isn't about that, because when it happened, everyone knew and HE KNEW, but he didn't try then to be a menace. I just feel very frustrated, and I needed to vent. Advice is welcome.

I apologize for the long post. I appreciate whoever reads this.

4. More Like Stanksgiving

>When the gang celebrates Thanksgiving at Alex and Dave's new apartment, Max brings along a tape of Brad and him on "The Real World," and everyone recalls how they met ten years ago.

5. P & P Romance Factory

>As Jane bonds with her macho co-workers by criticizing Brad behind his back, Penny struggles to hide her prescription helmet from her new beau. Meanwhile, Max is offended by an acquaintance's trick handshake. Guest starring Rob Corddry.

6. To Serb with Love

>Penny's new relationship forces Max to look for a new BFF. Alex hasn't told her parents she's back with Dave, and Jane wants to think of a funny toast to make her grumpy father laugh.

Point out a scene you think was not in the script!

1. Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires

>Brad goes to great lengths to keep his new job a secret from Jane, while Max keeps Penny confined to a body cast in order to spend time with her physical therapist. Meanwhile, Dave and Alex try to keep their rekindled relationship casual.

2. Sabado Free-Gante

>Alex and Dave can't commit to a new apartment. Jane insists on accompanying Penny when she buys a new car. Max shows Brad how to get free stuff in Chicago.

3. Boyz II Menorah

>When Brad and Max join forces to DJ bar mitzvahs, their business venture quickly puts a strain on their friendship. Jane tries to help Dave and Alex keep their romantic spark alive with disastrous consequences.

21. Kickball 2: The Kickening

>When Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) convinces her friends to join her store's kickball team, Dave (Zachary Knighton) must face his traumatic memory of accidentally kicking a ball at Penny's (Casey Wilson) face. Meanwhile, the ruthlessly competitive Jane (Eliza Coupe) joins a competing team in order to have a better shot at winning.

22. Four Wedding and a funeral (Minus Three Weddings and One Funeral

>The friends find themselves at yet another wedding - will there be "drama"?

19. Party of Six

>Hoping to break Penny's birthday curse, the gang struggles to pick the perfect restaurant for the celebration. But every time they settle on a place to eat, relationship mistakes from their pasts force them to reconsider.

20. Big White Lies

>In order to avoid having tea with an annoying childhood friend, Penny makes up a series of detailed lies that quickly spin out of control. Meanwhile, Dave and Max struggle to convince their nosy landlord to fix their oven.

16. The Butterfly Effect Effect

>The gang relies on Brad and Jane's annual argument to let them know when Max will come out of hibernation and when winter will end.

17. Cocktail & Dreams

>Dave gets a liquor license for his food truck, making it a new hot spot; the gang avoids Dave because his signature drink gives them sex dreams about him.

18. The Kerkovich Way

>After sleeping with Dave, Alex enlists Jane in an effort to convince him that it never happened. Meanwhile, Penny pushes Max to enter a scavenger hunt even though he is still depressed about his recent break-up.

13. The St. Valentine's Day Maxssacre

>As Penny decides she wants to dump her new boyfriend, Dave worries his girlfriend is going to break up with him; Alex seeks out a party in a questionable part of town; Max has an encounter with an ex-boyfriend.

14. Meat the Parrots

>Dave's father comes to town with his new girlfriend - Penny's mother.

15. Everybody Loves Grant

>Max begs his friends to be nice to his new boyfriend, Grant, but is taken aback when the gang becomes obsessed with him. Meanwhile, Dave struggles to prove that he is the "cool guy" of the group.

10. You Snooze, You Bruise

>Dave stands up to a bully at the gym, while Brad realizes how much their Homeowners Association depends on his wife's aggressive management style when Jane finally learns to relax. Guest starring Bobby Moynihan.

11. The Shrink, The Dare, Her Date, and Her Brother

>Dave has a surprising reaction when his shrink starts dating Penny; Max and Jane's fight over a sweater leads to a strange competition; Alex and Brad bond when they discover a shared interest.

12. Makin' Changes!

>Penny tries to change a guy to better suit her tastes, while Brad rebels against Jane's influence on his life. Meanwhile, Max and Alex accuse Dave of being addicted to V-neck shirts.

7. Full Court Dress

>Brad and Dave become entangled in a friendship with Brad's crazy mailman Drew, while Alex struggles to design a dress for Jane. Meanwhile, Penny competes with Max for the affections of his niece and nephew.

8. The Code War

>Max declares war when his old high school girlfriend Angie starts dating Dave. Meanwhile, jealousy over Brad's friendship with a flirtatious co-worker prompts Jane to look for a "work spouse" of her own.

9. Grinches be Crazy

>Max agrees to be Santa for Penny's charity, and Jane accidentally gives away the Xmas vacation money Brad had saved.

4. Secrets and Limos

>Brad struggles with whether to tell his boss about an awkward personal hygiene problem, while Jane tries to make sure the universe aligns in Penny's favor. And when Dave starts dating a new girl, he avoids introducing her to his friends.

5. Spooky Endings

>Jane and Brad spend a spooky Halloween housesitting in the suburbs, while the rest of the gang heads to a warehouse costume party.

6. Lying Around

>Brad lies and says he has to leave town on a business trip, so he doesn't have to be around Jane's sorority sister. Dave lets Max shoot a commercial for his food truck. Penny keeps changing her mind about which guy she likes.

1. Blax, Snake, Home

>Penny buys a condo and vows to turn her life around; Jane talks Dave and Alex into finally being honest with each other.

2. Baby Steps

>Alex's new T-shirts intended for children end up being a hit with teenagers; Jane searches for the child she believes was conceived from an egg she donated years ago.

3. Yesandwitch

>When her mother Dana comes for a visit, Penny worries that her positivity borders on delusion. Meanwhile, Jane and Brad help Max's limo tour business with skills they picked up in couples' improv class.

Share your favorite quotes/scenes, and something new you saw in the recent rewatches.

Episode 11 - The Girl With The David Tattoo

>Dave and Alex regret their 'his-and-her' tattoos now that they are no longer a couple; Jane thinks Max is passing on a perfect guy; Brad takes a stand against a bad waiter.

Episode 12 - Like Father, Like Gun

>When Brad's dad receives good news on some medical tests, his new view on life is difficult for Brad to accept; Penny meets an attractive Italian, but she can only speak to him when she's drunk.

Episode 13 - The Shershow Redemption

>The news of an old friend's wedding has surprising results; Brad and Jane make a discovery about their marriage; Penny and Derrick pretend they are engaged; the bride fears Alex is bad luck.