I am not married, but, having studied Marriage and Family Counseling, I am often looking for books about family and marriages, so when I seen this book, it caught my eye. I have read a few marriage books, but this one is different from most. It is written in a he said/she said, journal/blog format, which I really enjoyed. It felt like I was able to peek in on their lives and see exactly how they did life and marriage. As they wrote about different stages in their life, they were able to write what was happening at that time in their marriage as well, and share problems in their marriage that, at the time, might have not seemed like a big deal, but in retrospect is what caused major problems later on. So, not only is this a marriage "self-help" book, it is an autobiography.
This book also looks at the "self" a lot, and what you need to do to move yourself beyond ordinary and have a greater relationship with Christ, so you can have a beyond ordinary marriage. So, while this book is for people who are struggling with their marriage, I recommend reading this book before you even get to that point, even before you're married. I will definitely be keeping this book on my bookshelf and recommending it to every couple I know who wants to move "beyond ordinary" and have an extraordinary, Christ-centered, marriage!

My mother received a copy of this book because the authors are the keynote speakers at her church's marriage conference later this year. The book was on the end of the counter, and I didn't have anything else to read, so I picked it up. The book reflects the authors' comfort writing style: blogging. An advantage to this is that it reads like a diary. A disadvantage is that the book doesn't flow very well, with some chapters seemingly thrown in for the sake of an extra talking point on the church marriage conference tour.

As far as the book goes, I give it two stars because I simply don't like how the story is relayed to the reader. I understand that it is a true story, but just because it is autobiographical doesn't mean it was chronicled correctly or effectively. I find Justin insufferable. I find Trisha the victim of prolonged exposure to a controlling personality.

Spoiler

Justin pulls Trisha across states and communities because, as Trisha has to reiterate every chapter, he has a problem with authorities and a large superiority complex - he introduces himself to her as God. The majority of the book is about Justin's selfish decisions and how Trisha, the ever dutiful wife, follows where ordered. Then, out of nowhere, Justin admits he's been having an affair with Trisha's best friend and that he loves her (not Trisha). From that point on the story is only about Justin: his struggle to 'save' their family, his struggle to come to terms with childhood abuse, his struggle with pornography. Trisha's only role is to affirm that, yes, Justin struggled; but, she took him back because it was the right thing to do. Very little attention is given to Trisha's struggle to rebuild her life after her controlling husband cheated on her with her best friend. Instead, it's mainly about Justin's struggles.

My main issue with the book: it reinforces the idea that the male side of events are most important. Trisha is always present, but never really in play: a sideline character to her own story. In a sexist world, I find the addition of another male-centered religious marriage self-help guide to be redundant.

This is an excellent book about the beauty of brokenness, healing, forgiveness, resurrection in marriage. There is hope for every marriage. Every marriage can be extraordinary.