Review - Making Marriage Simple: Ten Truths for Changing the Relationship You Have into the One You Want by Harville Hendrix

Making Marriage Simple: Ten Truths for Changing the Relationship You Have into the One You Want by Harville Hendrix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
208 pages

Expected publication: March 12th 2013 by Harmony

Source: Netgalley
Challenges: Ebook challenge, A-Z Title challenge

Synopsis:
'Welcome to the Relationship Revolution! Making Marriage Simple is the accessible, essential road map to building a strong marriage in the modern world. Bestselling authors Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt distill into ten essential truths what they've learned about how to create a successful and satisfying relationship—both from their decades of “R&D” in the marriage lab of their workshops, and from their own relationship journey. In each chapter, Harville and Helen introduce a simple truth—such as “a frustration is a wish in disguise,” “incompatibility is grounds for marriage,” or “conflict is growth trying to happen”—and then walk couples through easy yet effective exercises to help them apply each truth in real life, every day.

Harville and Helen have spent their careers helping couples transform their marriages through research, workshops, and counseling. But marriage—even for marriage experts—is never easy, and a number of years ago they found themselves on the brink of divorce. Harville and Helen put themselves back through the exercises they’d coached so many other couples through, saving their marriage and helping them achieve a true partnership.

This book is for all couples. It offers the practical tools needed to transform one’s relationship into a rewarding and joyous marriage. Written with humor, compassion, and honesty, and illustrated throughout with engaging line drawings, Making Marriage Simple is a strategic blueprint for creating a stronger, more satisfying partnership in today's world.'

My Thoughts:
I decided to review this book not because I have a bad marriage, but because hubby and I do have some annoying ongoing arguments that I really wanted to nip in the bud and rectify in a nice way if possible. Therefore, I hoped that I might be able to pick up some good pointers from this book to do just that.
Making Marriage Simple is arranged in short, to the point chapters that each describe a certain aspect or 'truth' of marriage that it recommends you think about and work on. After reading through each chapter there are specific exercises that you are then supposed to do as a couple to highlight and discuss certain factors that you can either work on together or that you can take note of and hopefully understand your partner a bit better.
I found that this book was very easy to read and didn't bog me down in too many details which I liked. There was also an underlying humour throughout the book which made it more enjoyable than a book that feels like a life lecture.
Working through some of the exercises really made us focus on each other more and also made a few issues that were underlying in our relationship be dealt with in a calm and positive manner.
I definitely recommend this book as a good way to overcome any issues in a marriage before they become past the point of no return. It's a lighthearted read that both husbands and wives could benefit from whether you are having problems in your marriage or not.

Links:
Amazon: Making Marriage Simple: Ten Truths for Changing the Relationship You Have into the One You Want