The Marriage You Want is the best marriage book I’ve ever come across! It is refreshing, relevant and inspiring, covering topics like teamwork, friendship, partnership, passion and understanding. Not only that, it backs up all its advice with thorough, scientifically sound and yet accessible research (they conducted a large survey of married couples and assessed how each person’s attitudes and behaviours influenced their marital satisfaction and their spouse’s marital satisfaction). As I read this book with my husband, we stopped every few pages to comment “that’s so true!” or “I hadn’t thought about that, but it’s such a good point!” This book helped us to grow even closer to each other, listen better, and focus our eyes on being a team for Jesus.

This book is absolutely wonderful. I have grown hesitant to read Christian marriage advice books because sometimes I feel more confused (and broken) than helped by the end. This book was refreshing, and instead felt like it is going to be a little cheerleader on our shelf. I loved not feeling blamed for the things that aren’t perfect in the marriage. Instead, when the book points out anything that could be off in a marriage, it presents reasonable advice that both spouses would greatly benefit from. It isn’t telling the wife or the husband in a way that tears them down, but more like correcting gently, and then it encourages changed behavior. It is extremely practical advice, too. A great part is that they back everything up with research and Scripture. Gosh, I love a book with a long list of references! I love how this one kept referring back to research.

The book is great! Solid content, healthy advice, data-driven. Was glad to be able to listen instead of read on paper. The authors are excellent, expressive narrators. I like how they alternated reading different parts. They don’t fully read all the charts which is fine, I can look at my paper copy for those if I want to get all the tiny details.

I am so thankful for this marriage book! The insightful and practical discussion of what a healthy marriage can look like is absolutely inspiring! Having grown up in an ultra-conservative, patriarchal church, it is challenging and liberating to read a book like this. I’m a mother of 4 children, (5 and under) and Sheila‘s discussion of the marriage “hierarchy of needs” in particular was so helpful! Definitely something that my husband and I will continue to work on. Thank you for all of the amazing material you produce! Each book of yours that I read somehow seems even better and more applicable to my life than the last one. Please continue your amazing work! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to the entire Bare Marriage team for yet another amazing work!

As Christians, should we expect–and teach others–that marriage will be hard?Can you be a good wife or a good husband and still (unwittingly) contribute to drift or emotional disconnect? How and why?Does what you believe about male/female "roles" affect the balance and health of your marriage relationship?Does doing marriage God's way necessitate opposing evidence, reason, and research? The authors of this marriage book examine how beliefs and behaviors affect marriage and sexual satisfaction. They discuss the "big questions" and engage the reader in an insightful, balanced, and practical conversation (with accompanying scientific research) about how to create a happy, healthy and safe marriage.This book could be instrumental in helping you flourish in a marriage you want, rather than merely (and tragically) enduring a marriage you hate.

Excellent advice that actually works instead of what is typically taught from books by Christians. Marriage is a PARTNERSHIP between two adult humans who flourish when EACH of them flourish. Partners make a team that works best when each one uses his or her gifts for the good of the family. Marriage DOES NOT WORK when one is in charge and the other is taught to follow. But that is what we typically have gotten from Christian publishers. The research is clear and compelling as presented throughout the book and the conclusions for and considerations of both wives and husbands is so refreshing. This is not written by someone interested in maintaining the status quo of hierarchy within marriage, or who has a difficult marriage and is teaching others how to survive it. It is written by a couple who have a genuinely loving marriage who have surveyed thousands of men and women to find out what really makes a marriage thrive. And it is sensitive to those in marriages that are damaging and demoralizing to point them toward real help. Jesus cares most for the people in the marriage, not marriage as an institution. Bad marriages misrepresent God terribly, and this book will help us to see what God wants for marriage and will teach us how to live it. Don't miss this!

Great new way to think of marriage. if you want to grow your marriage in a positive way, then this book is well worth your time.

The Marriage You Want is desperately needed in the world of marriage books. Finally… a solid, Christian book about marriage based on scientific research. The suffering I have endured at the hands of other “Christian” marriage books and advice offered by the Evangelical Church has been tremendous. This is the marriage book I wish I had decades ago. Thank you, Sheila and Keith, for writing it and sharing it with the world.

This is absolutely the best marriage book I have ever read. It is so well-rounded, fact based and research supported that it can only lead couples, who take it to heart, to a better life together. I learned important things in every section, but was particularly impressed by all of the valuable information and useful examples in the emotional section. The authors have poured their knowledge, experiences, and those of thousands of people they have surveyed, interviewed and had discussions with into every part of this masterful work. I hope this book will be spread thickly around the world!