Making a Success of Marriage

January 4, 2010
In a crowded field of marriage self-helps, author and pastoral counselor Yount (America's Spiritual Utopias) crafts a fresh entry full of excellent insights, as well as above-average inspirational quotes from luminaries like John Donne and Tolstoy. Yount covers all the bases in one volume, from the decision to marry to the decision to divorce, but always emphasizing the importance of taking marriage vows seriously to keep a marriage strong, or at least sustained, through complicated situations such as troubled children or long-term illness. Though his approach doesn't present a new set of solutions, Yount's text is full of vivid examples that demonstrate his ideas working in real marriages. Sticking close to the topic of wedded bliss (rather than, say, salvation), Yount keeps his Christian perspective on marriage apparent but far from overwhelming; a useful 101-question "compatibility test" offers a serious inventory of issues that every couple should consider for their long-term health.