Hidden Keys of a Loving, Lasting Marriage: Principles of Strong and Lasting Marriages

by Gary Smalley, Norma Smalley

Fulfilling marriages don't just happen. Truly joyful marriages are a lot of work! In Hidden Keys of a Loving, Lasting Marriage , bestselling author Gary Smalley shares the principles of strong marriages. He points out the common problems between husbands and wives. And he shows how to turn those troubles into teamwork. Hidden Keys of a Loving, Lasting Marriage This book is a combination of Smalley's earlier published works, If Only He Knew and For Better or for Best . The first half of the book discusses the husband's part in building a successful relationship. The second half of the book shows how wives can nurture their marriages. Good marriages require both husband and wife working together to understand, appreciate, and honor one another. This book shows you how to do just that.

Genres: Marriage, Relationships, Christian, Nonfiction, Self Help

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 1993

About the author

Gary Smalley was one of the country's best-known authors and speakers on family relationships. He was the award-winning, best-selling author or coauthor of sixteen books, as well as several popular films and videos. The Blessing and The Two Sides of Love have won Gold Medallions, The Language of Love won the Angel Award as the best contribution to family life, and his other titles have received Silver Medallions. His national infomercial Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships has been viewed by television audiences all over the world.

Dr. Greg Smalley graduated with his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University in Southern California. He also holds master's degrees in counseling psychology (Denver Seminary) and clinical psychology (Rosemead). Dr. Smalley is the director of research and development at Smalley Relationship Center in Branson, Missouri. He lives in Ozark, Missouri with his wife, Erin, and their two daughters, Taylor and Madalyn.

Reviews

[Kipahni · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first marriage book that I have ever read that baisically states that if the man does a,b,c, then the marriage will work out beautiful. like the wife has zero responsibility in the change but the changes that come about in a man will cause and effect on the woman so that she will in essence change. He states the reason why this is, is because women in general are more relational and are not trying to deliberatly sabatoge their realtionship but seek to consistantly understand their mate.
For example the author states if the husband would speak kinder and gentler to his wife she will inturn not be harsh or disrespectful.
The independent female in me cries out HOW can this be- aren't realtionships 50/50? yet when I look at my own relationship with my husband I can't help but see that anytime I am steaming mad, all my husband does is immeditaly change his tone to one of gentleness and concern and suddenly I forget why I was angery in the first place. Again I don't know if all marriages are like this but I find it interesting none the less.
The only reason I didn't give it more stars is because I felt the second half of the book which is for the wife actually had very few principles for me to work on that weren't already addressed in the first half for the husband.

[Gail Koslowski-Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Recommend it. Informative.

[Andrea M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has two main sections: marriage building principles for the husband and marriage building principles for the wife. He says, "the main problem that we men have to overcome is our lack of knowledge and skills to nurture our wives to a level from which we can enjoy a growing, loving and intimate relationship." Many women also come into marriage without understanding. They don't understand that "admiration is to a man what romance is to a woman." This is a book emphasizing the skills needed to make a marriage work.

[Sara S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure this is the 'premiere' marriage book, but it is definitely worth a read. Broken down into 2 sections one for the husband the other for the wife, it explores differences in communication styles and how to improve the ways we communicate so each spouse knows what is needed in the relationship for it to thrive. It does focus a lot on the husband role and how the female needs to 'teach' the husband to be a good spouse.

As with all self-help/psychological books, take out of it what you think will help your relationship and leave the parts you do not agree with or do not apply.

[Leslie Fitzpatrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't care for this one at all. More because a lot of the problems and things discussed were non-issues for me and my marriage. I would recommend it for couples just short of their honeymoon phase. It was quite repetitive though seeing as two books were combined into one; a men's section and a women's section.

[Cws]

646.78 Sma

[Coolgirl F93hotmailcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was the perfect book that i have ever red

[Jamie Leeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marriage is not 50/50. It is 100/100. This book is a must read for all married couples! It helps men understand women and women understand men. And it tells how to make the marriage work beautifully!

[Lisa]

Marriage

[GothChickVibing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I'm gonna give it to my fiance` to read now. ;)