In this practical guide to marriage, learn the 147 secrets 148 of building a sound, spiritual relationship with your fianc eacute or spouse 151 from toothpaste in the sink to natural family planning. In the Foreword, Father Kenneth Baker praises the book as both practical and faithful: This handbook is outstanding both for its practicality and for its fidelity to the Catholic faith. It is practical because it offers good suggestions on most aspects of married life, such as the wedding, the honeymoon, the relationship between husband and wife, in-laws, finances, raising children, sexual relations, practicing the faith, and developing a spiritual life of personal relations with God. The handbook is also thoroughly Catholic. It offers excellent advice on how to live the Catholic faith as a married man or woman. There is no waffling here, no dissent, no ambiguity. The author spells out clearly what the Catholic Church expects of married people in the areas of married life, sexuality, and family life. Author: Frederick W. Marks, Ph.D.Pages: 154Publisher: Emmaus RoadISBN: 1931018014

The word choices, for example, are often too impersonal, making human beings sound more like machines or objects than persons. Too much of this language could be gravely misleading, especially in our already excessively technologized & dehumanizing "culture of death." An excellent corrective may be found, however, in Karol Wojtyla's personalist classic "Love and Responsibility."

The brief section on "headship," to choose another example, neither cites nor refers to any recent papal teaching, though there has been quite a bit in the current pontificate. This oversight is frankly inexcusable. Readers absolutely must take it upon themselves to read Pope John Paul II's "On the Christian Family in the Modern World" (Familiaris Consortio) sections 22-25, "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women" (Mulieris Dignitatem) sections 6-10 and 24, and "Pope John Paul II on the Genius of Women" (collected & published by the USCCB).

Overall, I would say that Catholic engaged & newly married couples need resources that will better introduce them to Christian personalism and the theology of the body. You might read Marks' "Handbook," but you should definitely supplement it.

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Orthodox, But disorganized  Jul 08, 2003
First let me note that this review applies to the 1994 edition of this book. The more recent edition may have improved; but be careful if you order the book used, as you may get the '94 book without realizing it!

Marks gets plus marks for othodoxy and fidelity to Church teaching. He does quite accurately represent Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality. The questions at the back of the book are also quite well done, I think; this might be the one part of the book that I found really useful.

However, the book suffers from disorganization: it appears to skip around from one idea to an entirely unrelated idea. The writing style is not particularly polished, either, which isn't necessarily bad. But in this case, I also have questions about Marks' qualifications for writing this book. It's clear that he knows Church teaching, but has he done any exhaustive study on the many practical psychological, emotional, or sexual aspects of marriage which he covers? It appears that his only qualification for writing this book is that he himself has been married-- which doesn't exactly make him an expert! In summary, I didn't find this as helpful as other reviewers appear to have found it.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

an excellent book for marriage preparation!  May 31, 2002
I think the book should be retitled "A Catholic handbook for pre-engaged and engaged and newly married couples" -- The questions in the back for engaged couples are incredibly helpful for couples to discuss before discerning their vocation of marriage together. Any Catholics in a serious relationship considering marriage should read it and discuss it together. Dr. Marks does a wonderful job of spelling out the necessary qualities for a successful Catholic marriage and the importance of a lifelong committment. Plus, it has the all-important Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, meaning it is in line with Roman Catholic teaching.