Chicago Tribune

Colin Quinn on 'Overstated': It's time for America to get divorced — or maybe just hold a new constitutional convention

Colin Quinn is convinced the United States need to divorce. He's been arguing this for a while now, but his new book, "Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States," takes the premise further.

He imagines the country 244 years into its marriage, nearly exhausted by counseling, on the brink of filing the divorce papers. "The only reason we never broke up was because we all lived with the marriage lie. They'll change. Give it time," he writes. "Trying to legally and culturally accommodate a country that has a Vermont and a Kansas living by the same rules. It's pretty amazing that we pulled it off for as long as we did, really."

The book, which expands on themes he explored in his off-Broadway show "Red State, Blue State" (now on Netflix), is styled as a final assessment. Before filing those divorce papers, he writes, "we have to ask: Is this what we really want? It's a big decision, so we should look at what we did and

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune3 min read
Sky Players Voice Confidence In New Team Identity Under Teresa Weatherspoon: ‘She’s Allowing Us To Be Ourselves’
CHICAGO — There’s just one week until Teresa Weatherspoon makes her mark on the WNBA — for the second time in her Hall of Fame career. The Chicago Sky’s new head coach will make her debut at the helm of a professional team next week with the Sky’s se
Chicago Tribune6 min read
Tiny Pieces Of Plastic Pose One Of The Biggest Threats To Chicago River Wildlife And Water Quality
CHICAGO — Wendella engineer Miguel Chavez climbed down a ladder and over a small dock Wednesday to pull up a trap floating in the Chicago River near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The size of a standard garbage can, the trap is designed to collect trash
Chicago Tribune4 min read
New COVID ‘FLiRT’ Variants Are Spreading Nationwide. Chicago Health Experts Urge Up To Date Vaccination
CHICAGO — A new family of COVID variants nicknamed “FLiRT” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates in Chicago — as well as nationwide — remain concerningly low for some public health experts. While symptoms and severity seem to be abou

Related Books & Audiobooks