A Handbook for Engaged Couples: A Communication Tool for Those About to Be Married (Paperback)

by Alice Fryling (Author), Robert Fryling (Author) "The big moment came for us on a small island off the coast of Maine..." (more)
Key Phrases: Downers Grove, Grand Rapids, Song of Songs

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
You're engaged! And now you are knee-deep in planning the details of the wedding. But are you also getting ready for what comes after the wedding?Alice and Robert Fryling bring over twenty-five years of marriage experience to this workbook designed to guide you through open and honest communication about the things that will really matter in your marriage:

money

time

communication

sex

family

work

faith This isn't just a book you read--it's a book you do. Its interactive style allows you and your future spouse to explore its biblically-based counsel and challenging questions together or with a pastor. And with three chapters tailored specifically to your first few months together, you can even use A Handbook for Engaged Couples after the wedding.Set aside time now to develop a marriage that starts well and grows to lasting maturity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press; Revised edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830819789
• ISBN-13: 978-0830819782
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm not engaged but..., September 10, 1999

By	A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "RIP MJ" (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Premarital Counseling Tool, August 1, 2000

By	Larry Roberts (Newville, AL (USA)) - See all my reviews

I have used this book for premarital counseling for several years. I can give one to each person and use it as a "get started" tool to help in counseling. It provides a very good scriptural groundwork for our sessions. It also covers some hard-to-counsel areas very well.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helping a marriage last forever, November 6, 2007

By	DuWayne "ready reader" (Lower Alabama) - See all my reviews

I have used this book in premarriage counseling for over 30 years. It is the best I have seen. It is also helpful to use after the wedding for fine tuning. If a couple is dilagent in filling out the questions & then discussing them together and/or with a trained counselor, they will be richly rewarded with a good marriage. This book should be used by all who are getting married with each person having their own copy.