Study Guide

This Is Where I Leave You Chapter 3

By Jonathan Tropper

Chapter 3

Judd and Jen got married when they were twenty-one. As with many newlyweds, their initial passion eventually gave way to monotony—a monotony that was abruptly shattered when Judd walked in on Jen and Wade getting busy on Jen's birthday.
So much for happily ever after.
Wade is a mash-up between Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, and Dane Cook. Appealing, we know. He hosts a radio show called "Man Up" that Judd produces.
Now he's hosting a private party for two with Judd's wife.
So Judd just stands there, holding a fully lit birthday cake. He finally takes the cake and—no, we are not kidding--shoves it up Wade's butt, setting his nether-regions aflame. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!
Wade leaves and Judd berates Jen. She tells him that the affair has been happening for over a year.
Defeated, Judd gets into his car and drives nowhere in particular. He imagines driving to a small town in Maine and starting a brand new life.
Instead, he rents out an elderly couple's basement and falls into a deep depression. Yep, that does sound like a recipe for depression.