Friday, February 7, 2014

The Marriage You've Always Wanted by Gary Chapman Review & Giveaway!

Disclosure of material connection: I received a copy of the book via Flyby Promotions. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.


About the book:

You can picture the perfect marriage in your mind, but re-creating it in reality doesn’t come easy. Trusted counselor and relationship expert Dr. Gary Chapman reasons that the most sought-after ingredient in any marriage is true oneness. In The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted, he presents expert wisdom and common sense methods to establishing that true unity on emotional and practical levels. Discover the wit and insight that makes his worldwide presentations and marriage conferences so popular. Are you trying to change your spouse? Do you know what it means to really love someone? Do you feel ignored or even alone in your effort to improve your marriage? Dr. Chapman has answers and action steps on topics from expressing your emotions to managing your money, all in a format that will have you and your spouse talking and learning with every page.


My thoughts:

When my husband and I were preparing to get married, one of the best things we were asked to do during our pre marital counseling was to read The Five Love Languages. I have read a lot of books about marriage and that one has still been the most useful and made the most sense to both my husband and to me. Clearly Dr. Gary Chapman knows what he is talking about, so when I see a book by him, I am always interested in reading it. The Marriage You've Always Wanted is divided into 9 chapters that each focus on different things that will come up in a marriage. Many of the chapters I found would be more useful for a newly married couple, but there were several that screamed out to me "Oh yeah! That is a fantastic idea!" or "That makes total sense!". Even the advice that I found would be more useful for newlyweds were things that we could all use reminders about.  I think the best advice in the book is about how we all want to have a spouse that's understanding and kind, but that we don't always act that way toward them and that the best way to have a spouse that is understanding is kind is to BE a spouse that is understanding and kind. I am paraphrasing, but you get the idea. It is not a novel idea, but I am afraid it is something most of us need to hear for it to click. I know I certainly do! Something I really liked about this book is that at the end of each section there are discussion questions for reflection. These questions are thought provoking and meant to start a conversation between you and your spouse. One of the greatest things about this novel, is the plethora of books and website links at the end to even further your journey of a happy and fulfilling marriage. There were several I know that I will be adding to my bookshelves. The Marriage You've Always Wanted would make a great wedding gift and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their marriage.

You can purchase The Marriage You've Always Wanted on Amazon.com or Christian retailers nationwide.

About the author:

Dr. Chapman is the author of the wonderfully popular The Five Love Languages, as well as numerous other books about marriage and relationships. He also is the host of a nationally syndicated radio program and holds various marriage conferences throughout the year all over the country.

Dr. Chapman holds BA and MA degrees in anthropology from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, respectively, MRE and PhD degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University.


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4 comments:

  1. I loved reading The 5 Love Languages, but what really helped me in the beginning of my marriage was Reading the Book Secrets: Transforming Your Life & Marriage. (Kerry Clarensau & Gary Smalley) and following along with the video!

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  2. I don't have one, so hopefully this one will be my favorite! :)

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    1. This one is a good place to start! I would also highly recommend The Five Love Languages (obviously!) and For Women only by Shaunti Feldhahn! :)

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  3. I love, love, love Gary Chapman! Favorite book - Devotions for a Sacred Marriage

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