The 5 Love Languages/Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married Set

by Gary Chapman

This set includes The Five Love Languages and Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married.In The Five Love Languages, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman guides couples in identifying, understanding, and speaking their spouse’s primary love language—quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. By learning the five love languages, you and your spouse will discover your unique love languages and learn practical steps in truly loving each other. Chapters are categorized by love language for easy reference, and each one ends with simple steps to express a specific language to your spouse and guide your marriage in the right direction. A newly designed love languages assessment will help you understand and strengthen your relationship. You can build a lasting, loving marriage together.In Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, the author writes, “Most people spend far more time in preparation for their vocation than they do in preparation for marriage.” No wonder the divorce rate hovers around fifty percent. Bestselling author and marriage counselor Gary Chapman hopes to change that with his newest book. Gary, with more than 35 years of experience counseling couples, believes that divorce is the lack of preparation for marriage and the failure to learn the skills of working together as intimate teammates. So he put together this practical little book, packed with wisdom and tips that will help many develop the loving, supportive and mutually beneficial marriage men and women long for. It’s the type of information Gary himself wished he had before he got married. The material lends itself to heart-felt discussions by dating or engaged couples. To jump-start the exchanges, each short chapter includes insightful “Talking it Over” questions and suggestions. And, the book includes information on interactivewebsites as well as books that will enhance the couples experience. Dr. Chapman even includes a thought-provoking appendix. By understanding and balancing the five key aspects of life, dating couples can experience a healthy relationship. A revealing learning exercise is included at the end.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

349 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2010

About the author

Gary Demonte Chapman is an American author and radio talk show host. Chapman is most noted for his The Five Love Languages series regarding human relationships.

Reviews

[Cherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading Five Love Languages but I had a completely different take on it since I'm getting married in less than a month. Super helpful to break down and decipher my partner's language of love. I really enjoyed making both my sister and my partner take the assessment so I could get a sense of what both of them veer towards in comparison to each other and myself. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about the things Chapman wished he knew about prior to getting married. I think most of those topics are hard and very often overlooked so I'm glad he talked about them. I spent time pestering my partner at the end of each chapter to make sure we were thinking about these things -- nothing we haven't talked about already and nothing that other married couples haven't already warned us about :) Overall, these two books are great resources to anyone pursuing a long-term relationship.

[Richard Shulmistra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for everyone! Helps me understand myself and my wife...wish I read this 20 years ago.

[Alyssa Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, at first, it seemed like the second book was just going to be a recap of the first book, and since I'd already read the first book a few months ago (I could only check out the second book as part of the first on the library app), I was rather disappointed. But, then they moved on to other important things to know before marriage, so I did, ultimately, find it helpful. However, I do think that, if you want to just read "Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married", rather than reading both books, you would probably do fine, as it does give you a general idea of what "The 5 Love Languages" is about, although it doesn't go into as many details, or have as many examples of how they work.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Five Love Languages:
This accessibly written book offers practical relationship advice and has rightfully become part of the zeitgeist since its initial 1992 publication. Gary Chapman’s core insight, that our relationships will improve if we learn how our partner yearns to be loved, is a sound one. I could do without the heteronormativity and brief Christian proselytizing, however. Despite these flaws, the book’s insights make it worth reading.

Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married:
As with Chapman’s previous book, the bulk of it offers useful advice: especially on apologizing and discussing finances. However, the book is rooted in outdated views of gender (the idea that men take after their fathers and women after their mothers, as opposed to a more fluid approach), sexuality (wagging his finger at premarital sex), and religion (warning against interfaith marriages). It’s still a helpful relationship tool regardless of the reactionary dross.

[Lindsey Hoobler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read “Things I Wish I’d Known,” and I am also familiar with the 5 Love Languages. Actually the author gives a recap of the 5 Love Languages in this second book, and that seems like enough if you just want to read one. Overall, I found “Things I Wish I’d Known” to be practical, straightforward, and helpful. It was a quick read with some important topics to consider, including “that apologies are a sign of strength” and “that toilets are not self-cleaning.”

[Amalinaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relevant & Concise

This book seem to cover topics that I know of but didn't gave much thought of in depth. It really opens up to how you should see marriage from a third point perspective. I would highly recommend to those who are/will be in a serious relationship!

[Quratulain · Rating 5 out of 5]

EGB

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only read the 5 love languages but for some reason it wouldn't come up on its own. This is a WONDERFUL book for ANYONE in a relationship. While this could help couples who are struggling, it really can help anyone in any kind of relationship. It helps you realize that to show your love for someone it helps to speak it in their language. Seriously a great book!!!