Customer Reviews

Trading Places: The Best Move You'll Ever Make in Your Marriage

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

The idea of Trading Places is great--to have empathy with your spouse in order to help your marriage. The book is filled with good examples and specific advice in typical Parrott fashion.

But the book is written in a scattered writing style, where unrelated stories are strung together and concepts are sometimes poorly defined. The authors take just about any story that that could come up with as an example of empathy, even though many of the stories are really examples of kindness or sympathy instead of empathy. So they could better define the theme of the book, find stronger examples of the points they are making and then write the book in a less short-attention-span style to make it flow better. It often comes across like they each divided up the chapters by theme, then each clipped articles or did a Web search on the theme and tied it all together. Namely, sometimes it is disjointed and choppy and doesn't flow as well as it should. The positive side of that is that you can read just a page or two at a time and don't need to read chapters as a whole in one sitting.

Another suggestion is that the book may have been better if it would have been applied to ALL relationships and not just spouses. The idea of empathy could work with children, adult parents, siblings, co-workers, strangers we encounter, etc. Their focus on spouses is fine but often the points they make could be better applied to a larger group of relationships.

So it's another good book from them but could use some good editing and maybe more time devoted to strengthening their points.

I loved this book; the Parrots have taken a simple concept--empathy--and made it practical, helpful, and inspiring. It's refreshing to read a book with this much depth that also turns out to be a very enjoyable read. I laughed out loud several times, had my mind expanded with some fascinating research, and had my heart convicted. What more could you want in a book?

If you're looking for a practical way to improve your marriage quickly, this is it. It's all about walking in your partner's shoes - a simple concept that I usually have a hard time doing. Until now. The authors gave me some new ideas I hadn't thought of before. I tried them out and it instantly turned around a potential conflict. Once I got into the book, my husband noticed it on my nightstand and is now reading it as well! By the way, the his/her workbooks are a big plus if you're looking for ways to personalize the book's content or study the book in a small group.

If you're looking to deepen and grow your relationship with your spouse (or anyone else for that matter), you'll be challenged, encouraged, and motivated by the authors of Trading Places. Truly seeing things from another's perspective isn't easy, but Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott have given me tools in this book that have opened my eyes to more clearly see and understand the person standing in front of me. Don't hesitate to make this purchase--it's worth every penny!

My husband and I both read "Trading Places" by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott and we recommend it to every couple no matter what stage of marriage you are in. Frankly, even if you aren't married this is a great book. It's for anyone and everyone because we all need more empathy in this crazy busy world where it's easy to forget to consider someone else's perspective. Read it.

This book is worth reading, and I did learn several important things. My only quibble is that it is full of metaphors and parables, which are intended to illustrate the point they are trying to make. I'm sure most people would get the message, but what would have been more helpful to me are more real life examples. Guess that's the "Analyzer" in me!

Excellent. Empathy is a must and this book oozes with how to get it and keep it in your marriage.