About the Book

From Mark and Susan Merrill, the founders of Family First, comes a collection of lists created for the busy wife who wishes to strengthen her marriage and love her husband well.

It's no secret that there is a wide emotional gap between men and women. Couples crave love and attention from one another, but they don't always know how to show it. LISTS TO LOVE BY FOR BUSY WIVES presents creative and practical ways for wives to bridge this gap and improve their relationship. These thirty lists will carry wives through an entire month of learning to love their husbands more deeply with advice they will come back to again and again. From lists addressing a wide range of topics, readers will learn to set better expectations for their marriage, to communicate more effectively with their husband, to build a deeper foundation of love in their marriage, and much more.

Review

There are so many couples out there who face tests of the “worse” part of their vows and give up. Usually, many people just gradually veer their own way but don't try to get to the root to repair and rebuild. You always hear about couple therapy or get advice from your friends or closest family. That's all great but at the end of the day, it really comes down to the two people in the relationship.

I'm not married but have heard so many stories from married couples that have been on both sides of the blissfully happy and what seems like eternally miserable. For the latter, I really wish I had come across these two books for them when they were going through the trials and tribulations. What I found so endearing and refreshing was unlike many books that give advice from the theoretical, these books come from a married couple who have experienced the good and bad, not to mention, married almost thirty years. Both List To Love By for Busy Husbands and Lists To Love By for Buys Wives really embrace and speak to both husband and wife separately encouraging the goal to get the marriage you want regardless of where your relationship is.

Ironically I read the book for men first. For me personally, I was interested in reading the male perspective and to see what advice and lessons that the guys could take. It really opened my perspective for when I read the book for women which helped me see things differently. You don't realize what you do or how it affects other people until sometimes you can place yourself on the other foot. What's great about these two book are they are catered to both genders specifically, even though at times the information may be similar. The books are broken down to 30 lists that if are communicated with each other as suggested in the book, it can really make a tremendous difference in opening the doors to communication and progressing forward to a better relationship. At the end of each chapter there are questions that encourage you to answer questions and or evaluate certain circumstances.

You can either read it beginning to end or you can skip around by subject area. It's really on your own pace and in your own time. Either way I believe you will get the same experience. Having a book written by a married couple who can relate with you makes a big difference who understands the imperfections and the inflections of moments that make up the journey of being married.

It's short, comprehensive and pleasantly insightful. Both Mark and Susan really complement each other with both books giving you a dual perspective that speaks to both men and women compassionately and sympathetically. Whether you have a great relationship or one that has it challenges, this is definitely two books that are worth experiencing together. It really guides you on embracing and learning to love each other on a deeper level. They really did a great job with writing “simple steps to the marriage you want.” Take a chance on enhancing your love with two people who are just like you with some years under their belt who want nothing more to share their experience and help you make your heart grow fonder.