10 Things a Husband Needs from His Wife by Erin Smalley

10 Things a Husband Needs from His Wife: Everyday Ways to Show Him Love by Erin Smalley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Most of the advice is fairly reasonable, though not earth-shattering. I think I do most of what is suggested in the book, though my husband is extremely cooperative with me as well so he makes it easy.

As a general rule, I am fine with nonfiction books that incorporate the author's Christianity. For example, Dave Ramsey's financial books rely in part on his religious views. And I read the Bible in its entirety last year so I have my chops. But this book sometimes quotes large and seemingly unrelated portions of the Bible as it's primary source for marriage advice. I didn't expect the term "goat sacrifice" to come up in a marriage advice book, but it really did!

And there's a certain tone regarding "nonbelievers" that I didn't appreciate, as if you can assume the values of such people or as if they are responsible for the sinfulness of this world. For example, there's an example of a Christian woman who cheats and seeks a divorce and starts hanging out with nonbelievers "who don't share her values." Presumably, her values are faithfulness and devotion to marriage, and they don't share that. But really she's the one that cheated and sought a divorce, why are these bystander "nonbelievers" getting blamed? Is the implication that her Christians friends would somehow have prevented this, though, in fact, they did not? I think the style of the book would be off-putting for all but more conservative evangelical Protestants.

"If I use the word 'God,' I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice." - Anne Lamott

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