Babyproofing Your Marriage - Book Review
A note to the men who may consider reading the new book "Babyproofing Your Marriage" but might be scared off because it
was written by three women... Don't think this book is for you, guys? Think again.
I've got three words for you: Five. Minute. Fix.
What's "The Five-Minute Fix"? Go read the book. It's worth it just for that. Trust me.
However, "Babyproofing Your Marriage", by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone, is much more than a how-to manual on how to please your husband through oral sex (oops, might have let the cat out of the bag. My bad.). It's a down-to-earth, unbiased look at how each party is equally responsible in making their marriage work after having kids. That's right, each party is equally responsible, now stop keeping score (You'll find out how in Chapter 3, aptly titled "What's the Score - The Post-Baby Battle of the Sexes").
I didn't want to like this book as I'm usually incredulous that any self-help book is going to be worth its money, but I can honestly say that "Babyproofing" really opened my eyes to some of the ways I could help my marriage. And with a 21-month old child who has totally turned our world on end, it came along in the nick of time.
I liked the fact that "Babyproofing Your Marriage" was written by women who are going through the same things in their marriages as I am in mine, and not by some doctor or therapist with lots of letters after his or her name. I liked that it was chock full of real quotes, from both men and women, about how they really felt about everything from sex to household responsibilities to dealing with the in-laws. And I loved that it was written with both women and men in mind. Both sides are equally chastised - though very nicely as, say, your best friend would - and given helpful pointers on how to make things right again. My husband read a portion of the book - okay, he skipped ahead to the chapter entitled "The 'Sex Life' of New Parents - Coitus Non-Existus", but he's working on the rest of the book now - and he was also very pleased to see that the book represented both sides of the story. Not as pleased as after "The Five-Minute Fix", but you get the picture. The book was very un-biased. Even my husband said so. And it had to be for him to admit that.
For me, reading this book was like sitting down over coffee with my best friends, sharing our dirty secrets and laughing over the messy parts. And then comparing notes with that one woman in the group who seems to have the best, happiest marriage.
Bottom line: The mark of any good book, self-help or not, is if I would recommend it to my friends. And? I've already told three of my girlfriends about "Babyproofing Your Marriage". So far.
After they've read the book I'm sure there husbands will also enjoy "The Five-Minute Fix". Aw yeah.
was written by three women... Don't think this book is for you, guys? Think again.I've got three words for you: Five. Minute. Fix.
What's "The Five-Minute Fix"? Go read the book. It's worth it just for that. Trust me.
However, "Babyproofing Your Marriage", by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone, is much more than a how-to manual on how to please your husband through oral sex (oops, might have let the cat out of the bag. My bad.). It's a down-to-earth, unbiased look at how each party is equally responsible in making their marriage work after having kids. That's right, each party is equally responsible, now stop keeping score (You'll find out how in Chapter 3, aptly titled "What's the Score - The Post-Baby Battle of the Sexes").
I didn't want to like this book as I'm usually incredulous that any self-help book is going to be worth its money, but I can honestly say that "Babyproofing" really opened my eyes to some of the ways I could help my marriage. And with a 21-month old child who has totally turned our world on end, it came along in the nick of time.
I liked the fact that "Babyproofing Your Marriage" was written by women who are going through the same things in their marriages as I am in mine, and not by some doctor or therapist with lots of letters after his or her name. I liked that it was chock full of real quotes, from both men and women, about how they really felt about everything from sex to household responsibilities to dealing with the in-laws. And I loved that it was written with both women and men in mind. Both sides are equally chastised - though very nicely as, say, your best friend would - and given helpful pointers on how to make things right again. My husband read a portion of the book - okay, he skipped ahead to the chapter entitled "The 'Sex Life' of New Parents - Coitus Non-Existus", but he's working on the rest of the book now - and he was also very pleased to see that the book represented both sides of the story. Not as pleased as after "The Five-Minute Fix", but you get the picture. The book was very un-biased. Even my husband said so. And it had to be for him to admit that.
For me, reading this book was like sitting down over coffee with my best friends, sharing our dirty secrets and laughing over the messy parts. And then comparing notes with that one woman in the group who seems to have the best, happiest marriage.
Bottom line: The mark of any good book, self-help or not, is if I would recommend it to my friends. And? I've already told three of my girlfriends about "Babyproofing Your Marriage". So far.
After they've read the book I'm sure there husbands will also enjoy "The Five-Minute Fix". Aw yeah.
posted by Chicky Chicky Baby at 7:39 PM
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