From the reviews I've seen online, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
by Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the type of book you either love or hate. There were very few opinions in the middle that I saw.
The inside jacket flap reads:
"In her most provocative book yet, Dr. Laura urgently reminds women that to take proper care of their husbands is to ensure themselves the happiness and satisfaction they yearn for in marriage. Women want to be in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Yet disrespect for men and disregard for the value, feelings and needs of husbands has fast become the standard for male-female relations in America. Those two attitudes clash in unfortunate ways to create struggle and strife in what could be a beautiful relationship."
I am so glad I picked up this book, it was definitely an eye-opening read. My parents divorced when I was quite young and my mother was a huge feminist so I definitely didn't have much opportunity to see how to be a good wife growing up. Because of the way I was raised, I could relate to several of the women Dr. Laura described in this book and that wasn't usually a good thing.
I loved the set up of the book. Dr Laura includes bits of actual conversations she has had with past callers which provide practical illustrations of the various points she makes throughout the book. There were definitely parts of the book where I could feel myself getting angry and rebelling against her advice. Once I stopped to think about things from the perspective of making our marriage and our home happy rather than selfishly wanting to make myself happy without concern for others, I found her advice very helpful.
The main point I took away from this book is that my attitude has the power to change the atmosphere in our home either for the better or for the worse. How I treat my husband will have a great impact on how he treats me. Because this book is written as a guide for women on how to make their marriages better, it is obviously very one-sided which I could see a lot of people being upset by.
Dr Laura attacks the societal idea that men and women are inherently the same, she highlights the fact that men and women are different and this should be celebrated. She does not say that women shouldn't have careers (she is a career woman herself) but she does say that your marriage and family should take a higher priority than anything else, including career.
All in all, this book is full of great advice for making marriage better if you're willing to approach it with an open mind and an open heart. I would highly recommend this book to any wife whether you've been married a few months or for many years.
Labels: Book Review, Marriage
