Becoming One: Emotionally, Physically, Spiritually Book

Overall, I liked it. I would give it 3.5 stars if possible. There were a few great chapters, several good ones, and a couple that were a bit dull. However the chapters are short enough, focused enough, and well-written enough that at no point did I want to fall asleep mid-paragraph as sometimes happens with non-fiction self-help books.

I was a little apprehensive of this book in the beginning, because the author (wife) tells a story in which she should have known better than to question her husband when he got lost one day, since she knows how much he hates to be questioned when he's lost and prefers to find the way on his own. She went on to say that because of her thoughtless question, she put him in a bad mood and ruined the evening and blah blah. There are actually a few such stories, in which the author seems to point out something totally normal (and almost always innocent) and then go on to say how horrible it was of her to act this way, how she was totally at blame for her husband's resulting bad mood, etc. It almost made me not want to finish the book because I thought, "This woman is delusional. She's having a successful marriage based on the fact that she blames herself for everything and her husband for nothing. Doesn't exactly sound biblical to me."

However, it is very difficult for me to not finish any book (Congratulations, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time.. you were that bad, but I digress) so I kept reading. And I got through the aforementioned stories by thinking to myself, "Even though she may be over exaggerating her faults and overlooking her husband's faults - if both people did that in a marriage, we would be a heck of a lot happier." And after I got through the first four chapters (on communication.. they were kinda dull), it got a lot better. Particularly, there were three chapters that I found very helpful. One was about putting your career (and everything else) before your husband. One was about valuing and affirming your husband (because if you don't, another woman will). And one was about the way we act around our families of origin, in-laws, etc. The wisdom/insights I gained from those three chapters alone was worth putting up with some of the stuff I didn't too much care for, and honestly, I think I'll probably re-read this one in the future.