444 days Book

This was an excellent book on marriage. I thought it was very brave of Augustus Napier to "put himself out there" and describe the evolution of his own marriage (not to mention the generosity of his wife in allowing him to do so!) in addition to using clinical examples from his practice. Aside from dispelling the myth that therapists have ready-made perfect marriages and normalizing the struggles we all have, writing from personal experience allowed Napier to describe overcoming marital challenges in a very convincing manner. Napier covered many topics very thoroughly without being boring, dry, or repetitive. Like "The Family Crucible," this book managed to be both readable and educational. The only reason I took off one star was that some of his chapters were heavily based on Freudian theory, and I tend to be an agnostic when it comes to Freud. I still highly recommend this book to couples therapists and laypeople who want to understand marriage better. I also think that kallah teachers might benefit from the information and insights in this book.