Friends, Partners, and Lovers

Friends, Partners, and Lovers: What it Takes to Make Your Marriage Work *****
by Kevin A. Thompson

Overview: This is a marriage book looking at marriage in three different areas...friends, partners, and lovers. The end of each chapter has a short list of questions to think about or discuss with your spouse.

Positive elements: The writing is straightforward with some stories sprinkled throughout from his counseling experience.  He shares from his own life, too, which I like.

Negative elements: I have read a lot of marriage books and this one isn't earth shattering. But like he said at the end of the book, sometimes just to read a marriage book and be reminding of a few things is worthwhile.

Conclusion: I loved this quote from the book. "Change is a necessary aspect of marriage. Unless you are growing and adapting, your marriage is dying. Healthy couples have the ability to learn and grow. Their greatest teacher is often conflict." This is why I read this book. I don't want my marriage to grow stagnate and eventually die. And I want conflict to strengthen my marriage.

I don't always think about the three elements of marriage, especially the partnership aspect. I liked this quote about partnership. "Partnership at its very best, empowers each individual to experience their full potential while encouraging them to know that in times of weakness, there is always someone who has their back." 

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to keep on working on his or her marriage. The book is written by a man, but this is a book great for men or women or a couple to read together.