Disclosure: This review is sponsored by Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Bloggers program. I disclose that this book was given to me free of charge in exchange for a review. There is no content in this review that was required by Thomas Nelson for me to include.

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs’ bestselling book, Love And Respect, addresses the age-old struggle that men and women have in marriage relationships. He uses personal anecdotes and testimonies to illustrate his theory of how men and women ought to treat each other – “wives, respect your husbands,” and “husbands, love your wives.” Eggerichs theorizes that wives respond to gestures of love, whereas men respond to gestures of respect. Eggerichs uses two “cycles” to describe this relationship. When a wife does not respect her husband, it’s more difficult for the husband to show her love, which makes her disrespect him more, and vice versa. Eggerichs argues that in order to break this “crazy cycle”, someone needs to take the initiative to start loving or start respecting.

I enjoyed reading this book – I had read it as a single man, and now that I’m in a dating relationship I’m finding that this concept is good to keep in mind. Far from being a “self-help” book, Love And Respect tries to emphasize the importance of placing God as the center of a marriage, and that the way husbands and wives relate to each other is supposed to mirror the relationship we have with God. An easy read, written with good humor and wise counsel, I highly recommend this book to anyone currently in a romantic relationship or anticipate being in one in the future.

Stars: 5/5