What do you think?
Rate this book
The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life
Encounter the realities of Catholic marriage.
"This book should be in every home. In fact, you might want to buy two — one for you and one for your spouse. "The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful," is written from rich experience of marriage, with all its joys and with all the challenges that are especially characteristic of our times. In Edward's and Beth's struggles, and through their counsel, so many couples will find healing, encouragement, and light; We sure did.”
–Dr. Scott and Kimberly Hahn, authors of Rome, Sweet Home
God draws spouses closer to the Heavenly marriage through the sanctifying power of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
However, that means it is not always easy, and it certainly is not like what newlyweds may imagine.
In The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life, Edward and Beth Sri - national marriage speakers - show readers that the struggles of marriage are to be expected and, even more so, they are purifying us to make us saints.
No marriage is perfect, and neither is the Sri’s. This book is packed full of hilarious and relatable stories from their 20+ years of marriage. From their experience, see helpful tips, mindsets, and reminders of how to live out the beautiful vocation of marriage.
In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, God has an incredible vocation for all for spouses. The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful goes into the nitty-gritty, explaining what to do when reality hits—when the rubber hits the road.
From discussions about
Miscommunication
Healing
Intimacy
Gifts
And more
you will dive into new depths of the reality of Catholic marriage—from the messy to the beautiful—in this practical, entertaining, and wise book.
"This book should be in every home. In fact, you might want to buy two — one for you and one for your spouse. "The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful," is written from rich experience of marriage, with all its joys and with all the challenges that are especially characteristic of our times. In Edward's and Beth's struggles, and through their counsel, so many couples will find healing, encouragement, and light; We sure did.”
–Dr. Scott and Kimberly Hahn, authors of Rome, Sweet Home
God draws spouses closer to the Heavenly marriage through the sanctifying power of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
However, that means it is not always easy, and it certainly is not like what newlyweds may imagine.
In The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life, Edward and Beth Sri - national marriage speakers - show readers that the struggles of marriage are to be expected and, even more so, they are purifying us to make us saints.
No marriage is perfect, and neither is the Sri’s. This book is packed full of hilarious and relatable stories from their 20+ years of marriage. From their experience, see helpful tips, mindsets, and reminders of how to live out the beautiful vocation of marriage.
In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, God has an incredible vocation for all for spouses. The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful goes into the nitty-gritty, explaining what to do when reality hits—when the rubber hits the road.
From discussions about
Miscommunication
Healing
Intimacy
Gifts
And more
you will dive into new depths of the reality of Catholic marriage—from the messy to the beautiful—in this practical, entertaining, and wise book.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2022
73 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Edward Sri
58 books266 followersDr. Edward Sri is a nationally-known speaker on Scripture and Catholicism and the author of several best-selling books. Besides teaching at the Augustine Institute, Sri is a visiting professor at Benedictine College and a contributor to the popular apologetics series, Catholic for a Reason. Sri is also a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students).
He also is the creator and host of a new 18-part video series on the Catholic faith for parish adult faith formation called Symbolon (Augustine Institute), and he serves the general editor of a Opening the Word: Journey through the Sunday Readings (Augustine Institute).
Dr. Sri leads pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land for lay people each year.
He resides with his wife Elizabeth and their six children in Littleton, Colorado.
Education
STD, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
STL, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
MA, Franciscan University of Steubenville
He also is the creator and host of a new 18-part video series on the Catholic faith for parish adult faith formation called Symbolon (Augustine Institute), and he serves the general editor of a Opening the Word: Journey through the Sunday Readings (Augustine Institute).
Dr. Sri leads pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land for lay people each year.
He resides with his wife Elizabeth and their six children in Littleton, Colorado.
Education
STD, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
STL, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Rome)
MA, Franciscan University of Steubenville
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 30, 2024
Reading my parents marriage books even though I'm 15 cause I love hearing about people's drama.
October 18, 2025
Great book that helped me prepare for marriage
June 4, 2024
In The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: the Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life, Ted and Beth Sri offer 20+ years of marriage experience along with practical wisdom to navigate the sacrament of matrimony. They cover a gamut of topics related to marriage and share advice and stories from their marriage to showcase the realities of married life. While there was good wisdom shared here that would be beneficial for any married or engaged couple to take to heart, I was left pretty unimpressed by this work overall. The Sri’s offer some great practical wisdom here, but they are certainly not doing anything to reinvent the wheel. Everything you’ll hear in this book you’ve probably already heard a hundred times before and I’ll be walking away from this book with much of the same perspective on marriage I walked in with. Still, I found some positive advice that I found genuinely helpful such as the need for a daily prayer life in marriage, spouses accepting one another’s differences, and healing within marriage. One of the biggest gripes I had with this book is that, contrary to its title, the book doesn’t really highlight many of the joys of marriage. While I think it’s necessary to show that marriage is a challenging endeavor and the lovey dovey feelings of initial marriage will come and go, I think failing to show the legitimate joys of marriage is a disservice to the reader. In an age where fewer and fewer people are getting married, especially young people, I have some concerns about marriage not being depicted as an attractive and enjoyable option, even amidst its challenges. A second major gripe I had with the book was its treatment of men’s role in marriage as being slightly unfair and one-sided. Specifically, in the chapters on navigating the differences of men and women in marriage and the chapter on daily prayer in marriage, men were consistently treated as the weak link in marriage rather than showing the need for mutual cooperation, virtue, and growth between both spouses in marriage. At times, it even felt as if men were disparaged and belittled to make this point even clearer. Even with these gripes and faults, there were still more positives than negatives here to appreciate. And while I didn’t necessarily find anything new in this book, it still offers a radically different message than what the culture says about marriage, and for this reason, it is a worthwhile read and contribution to the long catalog of Catholic marriage books.
May 8, 2025
"Cand ma daruiesc din dragoate altcuiva, nu pierd nimic. In schimb, castig mult mai mult. Nu pierd iubirea; de fapt, cresc in iubire...Intr-adevar, aici imi gasesc implinirea in viata, in a-mi folosi viata pentru a servi pe altcineva."
December 10, 2022
This book really does contain a lot of important information for living married life such as the fact that the gooey love you have in the beginning is not enough to see you through the trials of life. It also talks about the need for daily prayer to nourish your ability to do the work needed in family life. I definitely recommend reading it.
The reason I give this three stars is that it seems to suffer, maybe a bit less than some other writings, from a problem that I see in a lot of modern books on marriage. Maybe it’s just my perception, but the book seems to place more emphasis on what the husband needs to be doing. While some things that the wife needs to be doing are present in the book, they seem to be de-emphasized. The responsibilities towards each other are mutual.
For example, the book makes a big emphasis on how the husband needs to work to make time for the wife to have her prayer when this really should be something that the two coordinate so that each has time for prayer. Granted, I agree that the husband needs to get up early in the morning to do this, and that’s what I do, but I’d rather see it presented as a cooperative work than as something primarily the responsibility of the husband.
The book spends a lot of pages talking about how the husband needs to get into the heart of his wife. All of it is true. However, I would like to have seen something about how the wife can take interest in what is going on with her husband. It’s in there, but it seemed to me that there is much less about this.
So, while I do recommend reading this book, I think there is some room for a better balance in a future edition.
The reason I give this three stars is that it seems to suffer, maybe a bit less than some other writings, from a problem that I see in a lot of modern books on marriage. Maybe it’s just my perception, but the book seems to place more emphasis on what the husband needs to be doing. While some things that the wife needs to be doing are present in the book, they seem to be de-emphasized. The responsibilities towards each other are mutual.
For example, the book makes a big emphasis on how the husband needs to work to make time for the wife to have her prayer when this really should be something that the two coordinate so that each has time for prayer. Granted, I agree that the husband needs to get up early in the morning to do this, and that’s what I do, but I’d rather see it presented as a cooperative work than as something primarily the responsibility of the husband.
The book spends a lot of pages talking about how the husband needs to get into the heart of his wife. All of it is true. However, I would like to have seen something about how the wife can take interest in what is going on with her husband. It’s in there, but it seemed to me that there is much less about this.
So, while I do recommend reading this book, I think there is some room for a better balance in a future edition.
November 22, 2022
A comforting read, in the midst of a storm
Sometimes in the midst of a storm, we need a friend, whom walks the same path, a humble soul which you can trust, receive kind and helpful advice on our to navigate the row boat (Marriage) to safe shores. I found it an easy read, helpful tips, and a good reminder to pick up my cross and allow God to forge me and my marriage into a sailing boat.
Sometimes in the midst of a storm, we need a friend, whom walks the same path, a humble soul which you can trust, receive kind and helpful advice on our to navigate the row boat (Marriage) to safe shores. I found it an easy read, helpful tips, and a good reminder to pick up my cross and allow God to forge me and my marriage into a sailing boat.
January 3, 2024
Uplifting read
"The Good Messy and Beautiful" is a heartfelt exploration of marriage and spirituality. It delves into the complexities of marital relationships, highlighting the beauty in imperfections. The book also emphasizes finding God in daily life, offering a fresh perspective on faith.
"The Good Messy and Beautiful" is a heartfelt exploration of marriage and spirituality. It delves into the complexities of marital relationships, highlighting the beauty in imperfections. The book also emphasizes finding God in daily life, offering a fresh perspective on faith.
April 3, 2024
This is a fabulous book to read together as a couple, either married or engaged! There's a wonderful amount of experience combined with genuine Catholic faith. We've been married for 35 years and have been a volunteer sponsor couple for most of those years, and it's STILL GREAT. Run, don't walk, and buy this book as a gift for your current or future husband or wife.
June 30, 2024
With the reflection questions gauged towards engaged couples, this would be a perfect book to read alongside your fiancé. I love the Sri’s so getting to tap in to a sliver of their martial wisdom was great!
August 18, 2023
Nothing new, still useful though
February 19, 2024
Very good read! Practical wisdom and good discussion questions for married and engaged couples. A lot of great JP2 quotes and insights too. Would recommend!
August 1, 2024
Pretty solid. I like the Sri’s writing style. It’s quite jovial. It was nice getting an inside look on marriage after the “honeymoon” stage
December 29, 2024
I liked this book more than I anticipated. It is clearly intended for cradle Catholics vs converts, though it was still useful for those in secular marriages.
June 25, 2025
This book was so encouraging and brought up great discussions both in my women’s Bible study and with my husband.
July 7, 2025
highly recommend for any Catholic couples that are married or engaged.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews