Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The Good News about Marriage (Book Review)

The Good News about Marriage: Debunking discouraging myths about marriage and divorce.

Already, we are off to a great start.

Seriously, how many of us have heard of that 50% divorce rate? How many of us have quoted it ourselves at some point? Personally, I heard it for the first time when I was just 16 years old and sitting in one of my first psychology courses in college. I had just started dating and I was already being exposed to this horrifying statistic that said to me,"Half of all marriages fail. Psh...good luck." What does that tell young people just entering the dating scene? What does that tell young adults who are about to enter marriage? Adults who are married and trying to survive? Thrive?

Shaunti Feldhahn (and Tally Whitehead) finally challenged this myth with actual science. Yes, REAL research providing REAL statistics. I think that is what I love the most about the points made in this book. None of the information provided is merely opinion; it's information that is supported by scientific evidence. Not only that, but this author took her research a step further by contacting researchers and asking for datasets, requesting analyses that were not previously run, questioning how and why results came up as they did, and seeking out truth. She found that many researchers have been misquoted, their results misinterpreted and cited inappropriately.

Surprise!

Do you know what she found? We are making marriage sound awful compared to how it is and how it truly can be for anyone. The actual divorce rate is only 20-25% among Americans and - wonderful news - it's much lower for Christians who worship God together! There's evidence, right here, that portrays the importance of placing God in the center of our relationships.

Thank you, Shaunti!

Ok, I won't give away all of the details.  But I know you're getting excited - and this book is well worth the read to find out more. It provides solid evidence for the truth - the good news - about marriage. It is an encouraging resource for single men and women, married couples, and all those out in the community who work with and support marriages/families (counselors, pastors, social workers, etc.).

If you would like to read the first chapter of this book to get a taste for it, click here.
If you would like find out more about Shaunti and her other books (I HIGHLY recommend "For Men Only" and "For Women Only"), you can check out her website here.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.