Dustin Nickerson - How to Be Married (to Melissa): A Hilarious Guide to a Happier, One-Of-a-Kind Marriage

Dustin Nickerson is a lot like me. Young, handsome, a former youth pastor from the Pacific Northwest, a comedian, and married to a woman out of his league named Melissa. The only difference between us is Im Black, and he loves flannels. His book is a great guide on how to be married with his signature comedic touch. Hes one of the funniest comedians I know and a dear friend. Like me, his marriage and family come before success. This book is going to make you laugh, think, and be a better partner. I cant wait for you to read it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

KEVONSTAGE, COMEDIAN, PODCASTER, AND PRODUCER

Marriage sure is a puzzle. Its so hard and there are so many ups and downs, twists and turns as life kicks you in the teeth. Its also joyful and wonderful! Dustin, with darling Melissa, gives us a front-row peek into their very normal, hilarious, wait-are-they-spying-on-me-and-my-husband-relationship. Its insightful, helpful, and entertaining and as a comedian, I gotta have fun while Im learning.

LEANNE MORGAN, COMEDIAN

I learned two important things in this book: the argument is almost never about what youre arguing over, and Dustin is as hilarious on the page as he is on the mic. Dustin and Melissa share their marriage and arguments with such vulnerability that I felt like a nosey neighbor, listening in and then turning to my husband saying, Thank God we dont fight like that, right before we begin an argument about how we do in fact fight like that. I felt seen to say the least. If you want some relationship advice and to laugh a lot, this book is for you.

ANJELAH JOHNSON-REYES, ACTRESS, COMEDIAN, PODCASTER, AND AUTHOR

How to Be Married (to Melissa) feels like youre having a conversation with a guy who has legitimate experience and expertise in my favorite things: faith, marriage, and comedy. In a culture full of fake it till you make it people, Dustin is the real deal when it comes to all three categories.

TREY KENNEDY, COMEDIAN

How to Be Married (to Melissa)

2022 by Dustin Nickerson

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nickerson, Dustin, 1984- author.

Title: How to be married (to Melissa): a hilarious guide to a happier, one-of-a-kind marriage / Dustin Nickerson.

Description: Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, [2022] | Summary: Popular standup comedian and podcaster Dustin Nickerson delivers a hilarious and practical take on navigating marriage based on his everyday experiences as a husband, father, and an Average Joe who is still trying to figure it all out-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022003379 (print) | LCCN 2022003380 (ebook) | ISBN 9781400231614 (hc) | ISBN 9781400231621 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Marriage--Humor. | Christian life--Humor. | Marriage--Religious aspects--Christianity--Humor.

Classification: LCC PN6231.M3 N53 2022 (print) | LCC PN6231.M3 (ebook) | DDC 306.8102/07--dc23/eng/20220304

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003379

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003380

Epub Edition March 2022 9781400231621

Printed in the United States of America

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Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that the endnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication

To, who else, Melissa Nickerson:

my moonlight, CFO, and RBA.

I have known Dustin Nickerson for roughly a decade now. He is one of the kindest, funniest, most hardworking people that I know. He makes me feel lazy and incomplete as a human being in the best possible way. But the most valuable friendships are the ones that make you desperately want to be a better person and Dustin is absolutely that friend for me. Most importantly, though, over these last ten years Dustin has singlehandedly renewed my faith in men. He likes to joke that nobody hits on him after shows. This is wildly untrue. I have seen it happen many times and it used to make me very upset. Id think, How can these women attempt to corrupt a man who talks so often about his wife and children onstage?! If you want a comedian willing to cheat, its not that hard to find, ladies! Leave my happily married friend alone!

It took me a few years but now I understand why. Women want to be with someone like Dustin Nickerson. Someone who is both a wonderful husband and exceptional father. Someone who will get onstage every single night and tell thousands of people how amazing his wife is. Dustin has told me many times that if Melissa were ever to die, he would just become Robin Williams character in Good Will Hunting.

He and I have spent a lot of time traveling togethercountless early morning flights and long car ridesand I am always so grateful to be on the road with someone who not only is faithful and loyal to his partner but talks about her in such a consistently lovely way. (Some of my favorite Melissa compliments are endlessly interesting and strikingly beautiful.)

Stand-up comedians are generally very narcissistic. Sacrifice is not something that comes to us naturally. But Dustins marriage and family always come before his career, before his own comfort, before his own ego. His priorities are never out of order. I have watched him take the first flight out Sunday morning after Saturday night late showsoften on three or four hours of sleepto make it home in time for a baseball game or just trampoline time. It is hard to say who I am most jealous of in the Nickerson familyDustin for being married to Melissa, or their children for being lucky enough to grow up with Dustin and Melissa as parents.

This book will resonate with so many people, but it will also probably make you a little angry because who actually meets their soulmate in high school? Couples that have only ever been with each other are few and far between, but even with his rare, impossibly romantic story, Dustin manages to be blunt, realistic, and hilariously honest about how much work it takes to have a successful relationship. He and Melissa did not just get lucky and stumble into a happy marriage, they have worked hard to build one together. As someone who has gone to Dustin many times for advice about love and life, I am excited that others will be able to benefit from the wisdom I have personally received from him by reading this book.