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The book in three sentences: “Wives are made to love, want to love, and expect love. Husbands are made to be respected, want respect, and expect respect”.“When a husband feels disrespected, it is especially hard to love his wife. When a wife feels unloved, it is especially hard to respect her husband”.“Often, we focus on our own needs and simply overlook the needs of the other person”.

A poor exegesis and application of a passage from Ephesians leads the author to impose a psychological framework on men and women. Men are intrinsically created to need respect (from women especially), and women are intrinsically created to need "love" (from men especially). A complementarian approach that leans heavily towards submission of women to the potentially immature whims of men. I started to read this because so many pastors were referring to the book; but and lost interest about half way through. Became repetitive, and I couldn't get past the obvious misapplication of Ephesians at the outset on which the book was based. Sometimes it's better for Christian counselors to get expert advice on biblical interpretation before building an unsustainable psychological and potentially harmful model. ( )

I listened to the audiobook of this book several months ago, after thinking for several years that I ought to read it and never getting around to it. Although I’m not the target audience for this book (I’m not married), I found this book both challenging and eye-opening. It’s made me stop to evaluate my relationships with my father and brothers, and think through ways I can bless them when I interact with and respond to them. If I ever get married, I would definitely want to re-read this one, because it has a lot of practical tips to help combat and rethink common relationship troubles. Recommended—a very good read. ( )

Whether you are a Christian or not, there is useful and practical wisdom in this book that can help men and women better communicate and create a stronger marriage. This can help you better identify your spouse's live language and how to communicate in it ( )