35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm not engaged but..., September 10, 1999
This review is from: A Handbook for Engaged Couples (Paperback)
I'm not engaged, or even close to being engaged. Nonetheless, I found the Frylings' handbook refreshing and honest about communications and expectations among couples. I bought it on a whim, having heard that the Frylings do not sugarcoat reality in their presentation. My own relationship was floundering and I needed direction. I wish I had bought it several months earlier!
While written from a evangelical Christian perspective, it has that special universality of truth for every couple looking to understand and to communicate with their mate or future spouse.
I can see it being read alone for personal growth, with your fiance, or even the two of you with a counselor or older, wiser friend. Better yet, try going through this (be ready to be challenged!) with a married couple who seems to "have it together."
Catholics will love it as an addition to their time spent in pre-marital counseling. You're best to buy two copies, with each person reading a portion (set up in topical chapters with discussion questions).
Though I'm one who has never been married, I believe it would be great for a couple married several years as well, helping re-ground your marriage. Don't think of this as just a tool to get your spouse to open up, but as a mutual opportunity to renew the love which drew you to marriage in the first place.
This book is no panacea, but it can assist a new beginning, or a careful grounding for a future marriage.
For you single guys (and gals) get a copy of "A Handbook for Engaged Couples" and read it. It'll help you (and me) relate to anyone you might consider saying "I do" with on an altar someday.
(post-script: I have since been engaged, and can further attest to this book's usefulness, having been happily married now since 2004).
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
more a study for new relationships, not engaged couples, March 2, 2010
This review is from: A Handbook for Engaged Couples (Paperback)
I was really excited to try this book with my fiance. I looked at so many books for engaged couples, but most were just that; books that you read. I really wanted a workbook that we did together that brought up topics we should discuss and showed us ways to work out problems that would arise in our relationship. The first few chapters were good, I was impressed by the first chapter on the roles of marriage and the chapter on problem solving, but the rest were so superficial. I already knew most of what my fiance was going to say. I know how we like to spend our free time, what his childhood was like and how many kids each of us wanted to have. All in all, I felt that it could have gone a lot deeper. If you don't know the answers to the questions, or haven't discussed these topics yet, you haven't known each other long enough to be getting married. A better time to do this study is when you first decided to take your relationship to a committed, serious level, not when you've already made the decision to dedicate the rest of your lives to each other. Nothing seems to replace time spent with a pastor or counselor.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's the Jam!, March 8, 2007
This review is from: A Handbook for Engaged Couples (Paperback)
I really liked this book. Our pastor got us to purchase it as a part of our premarital counseling. It has a short ammount of information that gets straight to the point in each chapter (2 or 3 pages), and then it has at least a page, if not two, of great discussion questions. The questions are deep and thought provoking. They challenge the couple to really deal with the issues at hand. The information is short, but impactful. The book also has a great, natural flow. I love it!
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