Preparing Him for the Other Woman: A Mother's Guide to Raising Her Son to Love a Wife and Lead a Family

by Sheri Rose Shepherd

What Kind of Husband Will Your Son Grow Up to Be?

His is a generation of boys who have better relationships with their Game Boxes, i-Pods, televisions, and computers than they do with their families. His understanding of marriage is that it has little hope for success, witnessing a fifty percent divorce rate both inside and outside of the church. His world is one where pornography is no longer a hidden shame, but encouraged as entertainment.

Can you raise your son to one day love, lead, and protect
a wife and family in a world like this?

The answer is yes . The heartbeat of this book is to give you the tools to help your son become a tender warrior who will one day fight for his family, a godly husband who will faithfully love his wife, and a leader who will be a man of his word.

The time is now to take your love, tears, prayers, and influence and pour them into his future. Even if our world does not change its moral fiber, you can influence your son and bring hope to the next generation. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime—yours.

Reviews

“Not only is this an amazing concept, but it meets an urgent need for every mother of boys.”

Lisa Bevere, speaker and author of Fight Like a Girl and Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry


“I have three sons, two stepsons, two son-in-laws, and nine grandsons! Any help I can glean to give me more wisdom is welcome. I would have welcomed more help like this when I was a young mother raising my young men for ‘the other woman.’”

LeeAnn Rawlins, Coauthor, To Love Again


Story Behind the Book

When the manager of a large Christian bookstore told Sheri Rose Shepherd that readers of the popular His Princess TM series were futilely looking for material about raising their sons to be godly future husbands, she knew she could help. “Think about how much farther all men would be in their marriages if their moms had trained them how to one day love and understand their wives,” says Sheri Rose . “We can take all the mistakes we’ve made in our lives and use them to teach our sons the right way to live. And we can use our most powerful weapon of all—our prayers—to fight for them.”


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Non Fiction, Self Help

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2006

About the author

Sheri Rose Shepherd is the author of the popular His Princess(tm) series. A former Mrs. America, Sheri Rose is an anointed teacher who has served as keynote speaker at Women of Virtue conferences, and her messages have aired on national radio programs. Sheri Rose has been married eighteen years and has two beautiful children.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be clear, there were parts of this book that I liked: the prayers, the good intentions, the overall idea of preparing a son to be a respectful, loving, husband and father. But on the whole, I did not find it inspiring or useful. The author focuses too heavily on gender stereotypes and her own slightly strange, overly dramatic, personal stories. Towards the end I was skimming, simply because it was getting annoying to read. And Lord help the poor woman who eventually marries her son. He's probably a great kid. But she seems a wee bit controlling for the likes of your average daughter-in-law.

[Tonya · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this book contains many really good and realistic ways to help shape your son into the man you can meet be, I am very disappointed in the leavening involved in the face of this couple writing the book. They need to repent of allowing leaven in their life and stand on firmer foundation. They also need to search the king James Bible and quit switching Bible versions. Yes I want my sons to be warriors for the families. Yes I want my sons to have a relationship with the Lord. But, they need to foster repentance first: grief and godly sorrow for their sons. None of this does any good until they do. And allowing Christian music??? Have the “Christian“ performers out there are not even believers! Just ask them what they believe! They will give you a lot of ho-hum reasons they do Christian music but they mainly do it for the money! Anyway, I appreciate the effort made by the authors of this book, but so much of it is wrong.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only read the first three chapters so far, but I already love this book.

While I am not a mother, I do have five younger brothers--one of whom is particularly in my care. Desiring to help my brothers be godly young men in every area doesn't tell me how to get them there, so I am grateful for every help I can get. Preparing Him for the Other Woman is one of the first full books I am reading, and it is giving me exactly what I needed to hear. This task is beyond my strength, but what God calls me to do, He gives the grace to accomplish.

I look forward to updating this review when I've finished the book!

[Aria]

I haven't read this yet and...I don't usually read these types of books. For some reason, the photo on the front weirds me out a bit. And seeing how my son is only THREE, I feel uncomfortable even thinking about this. You know what I think it is, it's the title. Preparing him for the OTHER woman...I mean, I love my son to PIECES, but his relationship with his future wife should be COMPLETELY different than his relationship with me. I may end up reading it...my mother-in-law recommended it but we're not usually the same type of book reader. Anyway, just a few thoughts on a pre-read.

[MIchelle Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for moms of boys! Boy is there a lot to prepare them for in becoming a good husband. As a mother of 3 boys, I'm constantly praying and trying to prepare them to be full functioning adults and future fathers and loving husbands. It really refocused me on my role as the first lady in their lives and my responsibility in helping them become men who are successful in all areas of their lives. I'll be praying for my future daughter-in-laws too. Great read and practical advice too.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a delightful way of sharing information. She intertwines it with story and scripture. This makes a lasting impression and makes the lessons more memorable and meaningful.

She also provides a checklist for various ages which is helpful for those of us who like to writes lists and check things off.

Her solutions are creative and practice and she dies a great job of explaining why each solution should be implemented.

I would recommend this book for any boy mom. Although some women may not agree with the gender roles, I identified with them greatly. I was a woman in love with her career before kids. I never ever thought I’d be a mom to want to stay home wuth my babies - and something switched for me with the birth of our first son.

[Leanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave it one star for the prayers. I saved some of those or wrote my own with the jump point from some of them... but, this devotional didn't seem as solid theologically as I prefer. I never liked how the title calls his future wife, your future daughter........ the 'other' woman.. that seems like a kind of twisted way to view the woman who is going to be his biggest helper in life. Was it really lost on her on this? Could have easily read: preparing him for my future daughter ♥ The husband leaves his parents and cleaves to his wife--- making the MOM the TRUE OTHER woman...right? Yeah. Moms, find biblical men who teach true biblical parent/children/spouse roles and learn from them.

[Ellena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty basic. Not much to it but an easy read. At times I found the author's hypocritical/judgy perspective obnoxious. Like when she automatically assumed some kids were gang members based on their appearances. Or the fact that she is talking about her son remaining pure when she herself was having an emotional affair. However, there were some helpful tips such as praying for his future wife or keeping a journal for her that I liked. Overall it's an okay read but nothing spectacular.

[Drennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. There are some negative reviews about it, but overall I really found it helpful. I think it is especially insightful and helpful for mothers who are in a marriage relationship similar to the authors. We all have different experiences in marriage and need the right tools to help with our specific challenges. I appreciate the simplicity of this book as a busy mom.

[Ashlee Stingel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a little boy… but very little. Baby in fact. This book would be more fitting maybe for a mama with older children. Some of the tips are great, some are so so.

[Chris Record · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every mother of a boy should read this, especially single mothers.

[Christi DeBenedetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful. Perfect for someone with a son of any age. Also wonderful tips for marriage. Would be wonderful & insightful for husbands & fathers to read.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marriages in the U.S. are falling apart every day and as a Mom, with four sons of my own, I do not want that same sorrow for my sons. This book is full of easy to understand and follow ideas and examples. My oldest is now 21 and my youngest is 8 and I can honestly say that this book has helped me mother with purpose over the years. I keep this book by my bedside at all times because every moment is a teachable moment. TV stars, music lyrics, sitcoms, and video games constantly show men to be arrogent, lusting after 'beautiful' women, crass and sarcastic, and vengful and foulmouthed. This is the opposite of how a husband should lead and love a family of his own. If we don't raise him to value the heart of his wife, how to cherish her, and how to lead his family with honor, who will??? Give this book a chance! It's never to early to raise our sons with their future in mind, or too late. (for sons ages 3-19)

Fun tip; Watch the Princess Bride with your son. My sons all enjoyed the Princess Bride b/c they saw the gentleman & the hero behind the mask. I'm glad I did this one.

[elisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn't agree with 100% of this book, there was still a TON of great ideas and just reminders of stuff we should already be doing with our sons to prepare him for his future wife. I know that some reviews have marked her tactics as very extreme, and she'll openly admit that some of them are - and that they aren't for everyone. But if you don't agree with those few ideas - it doesn't negate the rest of the book at all. Some stuff I'm already doing but there were other things that I would have never thought to do that would be simple to implement. Will I do them all? Nope. But this book was still a great tool to keep it fresh on my mind to prepare my son for his future wife. Plus, I loved the format of the chapters - works well with my learning style! :)

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for every boy's mom. The author shares her heart and passion for raising a son that can truly understand the need women have to be loved by their husbands. It's not a "these are the rules" kind of book. She speaks on this topic with great desire for us as mom to not give up. At the end of each chapter, there is an age appropriate out line to teach how to apply some of the things touched on in the corresponding chapter. I definitely will read this again.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was great. It really made me think about day to day lessons I can teach our boys as they become older. I loved how she had ideas for all kinds of age groups of boys to teach them how to become better boys of God. There were a couple ideas I wasn't sure about (small boys watching The Princess Bride?) but overall I thought it was a good book. I would highly recommend this to other moms who are raising boys and Mindy, I'm looking forward to talking to you about this!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard of this book through the Focus on the Family Podcast and I was interested. It has some good points, good prayers, and good insights, however I felt it was written too simplistically. An easy read, but not as challenging as I would have liked. I felt it stayed shallow and would have preferred more depth. But because it still added to my life, I gave it three stars and would still recommend it to others.

Recommend for:
Mothers and mothers-to-be of sons
Mommy groups

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! I didn't agree with absolutely everything in it, but there are lots of good practical ideas for how to teach sons how to be good men and good husbands and fathers some day. Its a very quick read too. I think I will make it a tradition to read this every year around the time of my son's birthday.

[Stephenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't agree with everything in here, but there are many good points and verses to remember when raising boys. I liked the format that the book was written in, as well as the prayers that end each chapter. Will keep this as a reference in the years to come.

[Lori]

I heard the author on the radio, and can't wait to dive into this book when I get a chance.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author spoke at our church this year. Excellent book, great advice, filled with godly wisdom ... a must read for any mother with a son.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

exellent prayer tool

[Erin]

This has a lot of good ideas and tips about raising sons.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HIGHLY recommend this book if you have boys. It is an easy read and something you can go back to again and again as your son gets older. I love this book and the idea behind it.

[Maryjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very useful book.

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Main idea was good, but I differ theologically/philosophically with the author on a number of the applications. While the aim of this book is good, I firmly believe if you stick to the basics of teaching your son to love God and run after Him, being a great husband will be the natural fruit. It's not about being emotionally sensitive, it's about loving sacrificially as Christ loved the church.