Sonderbooks Book Review of For Women Only

Reviewed December 11, 2005.
Multnomah Publishers, Salem, Oregon, 2004. 200 pages.
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#5, Relationships)

How I wish I’d read books like this one long before I knew there were problems in my marriage!

For Women Only echoes the advice of the book Love and Respect (and even quotes it), telling you that men need their wives’ respect and showing you what things women commonly do that make their husbands feel disrespected.

This isn’t the only message of the book. Shaunti Feldhahn conducted a large survey to try to learn what men really think and feel. She was surprised by the results—in general, they were not the same as how women would respond to the same questions. Although she does present the results from a Christian perspective, she mainly uses the survey to tell you what things are most important to men in a relationship.

The book tells you how you can best support your husband, and what things you may be doing without realizing that they hurt him. I was terribly convicted, as she mentioned many hurtful things which I have done for years. I didn’t mean to hurt him, but it sure looks like I did.

Men won’t necessarily respond to the same kind of love and support as nurtures female friends. This book showed me lots of changes I need to make, and ways I was hurting my husband without even knowing it. It may be too late to help my marriage, but I do believe it’s the right thing to do.

I think all wives can get something from this book. Even if your marriage is wonderful and harmonious, there is plenty of food for thought. If you don’t think these things apply to your husband, this might give you an excuse to ask him and find out.

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

******For Women Only*

What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men

by Shaunti Feldhahn