Love at Last Sight: Thirty Days to Grow and Deepen Your Closest Relationships

by Kerry Shook, Chris Shook

Everything you’ve been taught about relationships is wrong.

The movies and TV make it look easy. Matchmaking Web sites have it down to a science. Two people connect—love at first sight—and the relationship is magical from then on. But the truth is, strong, deep relationships that last a lifetime aren’t based on the mysterious chemistry of two personalities. Real love in relationships—friends, married couples, siblings, parents—isn’t a magic act. It’s a journey. A great relationship grows from an investment of time and effort.
 
Kerry and Chris Shook know that deep relationships aren’t built on initial attractions, but on last things—the experience you shared the last time you were with someone . . . the words you spoke with her last week . . . the effort you made for him the last time you were together. And Love at Last Sight offers a one-month relationship plan that will improve your most important bonds, including a weekly focus and daily readings that guide you through the process. By learning to be  present in the moment, acting intentionally, risking awkwardness, and learning to let go, you’ll discover wisdom from the Bible that contradicts what popular culture would have you believe.
 
Meaningful relationships depend on seeing other people as they are, so that the last time your eyes meet on this earth, your relationship will be closer and deeper than ever before. Love at Last Sight is the last book you’ll need to get your dearest relationships right.

Another life-changing book from Kerry and Chris Shook
Authors of the best-selling One Month to Live
 
Your closest relationships will naturally drift apart over time.   And chances are, right now, one or more of your most important relationships is less than what you wish it could be.
 
Now you can change everything and take steps to reconnect with the people who really matter—and we don’t mean by connecting on Facebook! This thirty-day program guides you step-by-step to deeper, more satisfying relationships by developing four forgotten but powerful relational arts for  changing, improving, and repairing the relationships you care about most:
 
            Week 1 – The Art of Being All There
            Week 2 – The Art of Acting Intentionally
            Week 3 – The Art of Risking Awkwardness
            Week 4 – The Art of Letting Go
 
Learn the secrets that will lead you to healthy relationships with the most important people in your life—starting today!

Genres: Marriage, Relationships, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Christian

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Ruth Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I would like this book when I began. After all, I'm not married (but I hope to be within a few years!). Right away, I realized that the authors had done a fantastic job of including more than the marriage relationship. What they teach you applies to all relationships. They base all their advice on sound Biblical and relational principles.

I will tell you that I did not actually do their suggested daily assignments in the book. I think that this book would be great for a small group Bible study where you could share those things in a journal form and weekly with the others in the group.

The things that really stood out to me in this book were being yourself with the special people in your life and not leaving when things don't go right. This is about love at last sight, not first sight. Hollywood has inundated out culture with romantic ideas that are absolutely unrealistic, and they are basically self-centered. When we realize that true love is action and not a feeling, it will definitely make a difference in our relationships.

[AngiJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The advice in this book is very straightforward, practical and honest. The authors uses the Bible as a framework; but even the non-religious can use the advice and exercises to gain clarity about themselves and their relationships with people. I really liked that the authors read their own audiobook and enjoyed the switch between the male and female voice from time to time. This is a great book for anyone looking to deepen or repair key relationships in their lives.

[Natalie Shawver · Rating 2 out of 5]

My monthly book theme for May was "book fourth from the left on your to-be-read shelf." This just happened to be it. I decided against using this one for my online book club thankfully as it was quite over-the-top and too self-helpy for my taste. I have no idea how this book even held a coveted spot on my shelf for so long - but it did. Was it you who recommended it? I trudged through it, chapter by chapter, over my lunch hour at work each day. The concept was focusing on your toughest relationships and trying to overcome the obstacles that keep you from growing closer in them. I wanted to believe some of the tips and tricks would sink in...but for the most part, it was quite preachy. Perhaps I'm too jaded, but it seems that when a relationship is stuck (romantic, friendship, familial or otherwise), it takes a lot more than just a simple band-aid and boo-boo kiss to make it better. It takes real, hard work. And what I've found is in most instances unfortunately, only one person is willing to put in that hard work. The other just disappears or gallivants off to their next relationship. Oh well. Perhaps that's the lesson. The one passage that did resonate with me, however, was this:

"When God writes our story, He didn't promise us that all chapters would be easy. The good news is that if we let God write our story, when those bad chapters come, the hope we have is that in the last chapter, He promises us that He will make sense of all those other chapters."

The perfect analogy for a book-reading addict like me. I appreciated its honesty and admittance that not all relationships actually are wonderful and/or grow deeper, no matter how hard you try on your end. And that's OK. You can only be responsible for yourself and know your efforts. The rest is up to the other person. Love at Last Sight encourages readers to look beyond the surface and dig deeper. I'm a fan of that thinking and approach - perhaps those who aren't should read this book. The rest of the book was nice. Nothing earth-shattering for me. Just nice. Will I implement anything I learned, you ask? See paragraph above.

[Teela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerry Shook is one of my favorite TV preachers and well, being married to a Pastor myself, I was anxious to receive and get started on Kerry & wife Chris's book, Love at Last Sight. My husband and went through this together, hoping for something new, but you know that old saying, there's nothing new under the sun, just different ways to look at things, well, I'm not sure this was even a different way for me to look at deepening my relationship with my dear husband. However, this is a 31 day study that challenges you to learn the secrets ,( which if growing up in church or having attended any marriage seminars you will have probably already heard these)are: Week 1 - The Art of Being ALL there (granted, most of us aren't!)
Week 2 - The Art of Acting Intentionally (again, something to ponder as I, myself, act spontaneously
Week 3 - The Art of Risking Awkwardness
Week 4 - The Art of Letting Go
I did really enjoy the Challenge at the end of each day and also loved seeing the quotes at the beginning of the day's study.
I do recommend this book, especially for those who were not raised in church or gone to seminars for strengthening one's marriage/family relationships.

I received this book free from Multnomah Books as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Diana Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book. I flew right through this book. I absolutely love what Chris and Kerry Shook describe as "love at last sight." I was inspired by everything throughout this book and got a lot of great tips out of it. It's not only going to help improve my marriage, but my friendships, my family relationships with my parents, my daughters, my siblings, and more. It was a wonderful book and its the second of their books that I've really enjoyed. They got life down, these two. Keep up the good work, that's all I can say. And you, potential reader, go pick up this book and the Shook's other book titled One Month to Live: 30 Days to a No-Regrets Life. You won't regret it.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that had so many good points that its hard for me to pick just a few out. The whole premise of the book is deepening relationships into "love at last sight" relationships instead of just "love at first sight" relationships. It can apply to marriage, friendship, child/parent relationships, etc. I just finished it after borrowing it from the library, and I feel like I want my own copy now so I can highlight things and go back and reference certain chapters again. I definitely recommend it!

[Heather]

I'm doing this with a Women's bible study. So far so good.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book....just not an easy one to embrace if you have not so great relationships in your life...but definitely need to read this one more than once.

[Churchill Osimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an atheist, I skipped all the scripture quoting god babbling nonsense beyond that there's actually pretty good stuff.

[Colleen Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It has helped me in my marriage. This is a must for all couples.

[Megan Contreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book of thirty daily short readings to help you reflect, re-examine and possibly rebuild close relationships in your life. Contemplative with a tie to Christian faith, this had nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout l. Thought provoking and helped you look at yourself and own actions in relationshop. Well done!

[Kristine Coumbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received Love at Last Sight for free through a reading program with Waterbrook Multnomah and am not required to give a positive review. Love at Last Sight is written by married couple Kerry and Chris Shook. Does that mean that because a couple wrote a book on improving relationships it will be a good and well written book? Surprisingly it did. The Shooks are religious counselors/pastors of a church and happily married for 25 years. The book is a "to-do" book it is divided up into four weeks with things to do each week to improve and deepen relationships. The weeks include developing being present, acting with intention,risking awkwardness and letting go. I gave it a try and found that they work. Each week is filled with do-able tasks and goals.I am able to enjoy my time with my fiance' with less anxiety with makes things easier for him. It is still too early to say what I learned as successful but I do see improvement.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Love at Last Sight: 30 Days to grow and deepen your closest relationships" by Kerry & Chris Shook is a 30 day Christian devotional that teaches the reader how to deepen relationships. Each day starts with quotes, then stories from the authors' lives and supporting scripture with the day's lesson. Each day is followed with a Challenge, which is three homework assignments.

The Shooks have a distinct writing voice. In fact, I have a daily devotional e-mailed to me that is different excerpts from different devotions and authors of which there are thousands. One day I received one and I thought it seemed like them and sure enough it was. The writing is thoughtful, entertaining, and insightful. The only downside was that it sometimes seemed like they were overthinking things; like they were needing to come up with 30. Maybe should have stopped at 25. I received this book for free from Waterbrook Press.

[Tima · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I chose this book to review I thought it was going to be about marital relationships. So immediately I had to re-ajust my thinking. It is about ANY relationship - parents, friends, spouse, etc.
Each chapter begins with quotes that deal with relationships and ends with a challenge based on the chapter just read.

The best part about this book were the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. I felt that the book was very "fluffy" and I could (and did) easily skim through each chapter to get the basic points. Another reviewer commented that it was a lot of basic common sense. I completely agree. I didn't hate the book, but I certainly didn't learn anything new.

I received this book free of charge from WaterBrook in exchange for my honest review.

[Linette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had good points, encouraging you to think about what you spend your time on. We often don't nurture the relationships that are important with the time they deserve. I wasn't able to overly relate to this book, so burned out on day 14. I plan to someday come back to it. Nonetheless, it is a good refresher for somebody in a healthy relationship to help you re-focus.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not usually game for a self-help/relationship books but I feel like this was actually applicable. Many of the concepts they talk about should be common sense but are more the things we are blinded by when in relationships and friendships. Although it use at least one bible verse in every chapter, it was not overly preachy and used them simply as short supporting arguments.

[Debora Wiratno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its practical and very helpful. The 30 days reading plan works well with someone who doesn't really have much time reading. I just read one chapter every morning along with my devotional, and thats it, but its very encouraging... It reminds me to keep prioritizing the 'right' things in life!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was a Christianity-based book (not for me) when I grabbed it off the shelf at the library, but there's some good, realistic relationship advice here.

[Marian Fagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for Christian couples

[Wendy Hollister · Rating 3 out of 5]

although written with heavy religious references, I believe that this book is helpful in working through personal issues. The foundation and philosophy is a healthy one to adapt.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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