Down-to-earth marriage manual

Even though I do not always agree with Dr. Laura, I enjoy listening to her. Mostly, it's because she has very strong beliefs and she stands firmly by them. Too often in our society people are wishy-washy out of desire to be "popular" and inoffensive. I admire her for her strength to stand for what she believes in or take an unpopular point of view. She's an inspiration for all of us to stand by our principles and, above all, to always be honest with ourselves and others.

"The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands" is the first and only book by Dr. Laura that I have read. Overall, it is very much like her radio program, except that it is focused solely on what we as women can do to improve and maintain our marriage. Her style is conversational, no-nonsense, and down-to-earth. The advice that she dispenses is common-sense, practical, and time-tested. A large number of actual phone calls and letters make up the bulk of the book, as illustrations for the points that she makes.

The message of the book is that women have real power in marriage, since men, at their core, yearn for acceptance, approval, and appreciation (`the three A's'). Women, therefore, have the power to either make their husbands absolutely happy by giving them these three A's (which in turn makes men more willing to go the extra mile for their wives) or miserable by withholding them (which results in resentment and can ultimately lead to divorce). In this book, Dr. Laura exposes the problem in our society where women have a real need for control in their relationships, which manifests in them withholding affection, needlessly criticizing and otherwise alienating their husbands.

I can personally testify to the validity of advice that she gives. Being a child of a divorce, I struggled with all of these issues early on in my relationship and my marriage. Although I didn't have the benefit of this book at the time, I was lucky enough to be with a man who loved me and cared enough for me to stick around while I worked out all of these issues. He really taught me, through his actions, what "The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands" is all about - the importance of being unselfish, willing to compromise, and putting the relationship and the other person first. Doing so creates a virtuous cycle which invites the same behavior in the other person, thus bringing both people happiness and fulfillment.

Now being happily married, I believe that I'm already doing most of the things in the book. Still, it was a nice reinforcement of what I've learned through life experience and gave a few valuable pointers in the areas where I still have room for improvement. There were a couple of times while reading this book that I felt it was a bit redundant and lacked structure - mostly due to the author's need to reinforce certain points, as well as her overall conversational style. Despite these rather minor flaws, I still give this book five stars because there is nothing else quite like it out there. I believe that it should be a part of each married woman's library as the only marriage manual that she'll ever need.

Very Helpful, if you have an open minded

I must admit that when I first started reading this book, I started to get a little ticked off because every other sentence was about how a woman needs to do this or that and I was like will you please get off our backs and when and where does a man come in at in the relationship picture. Well I kept reading and the point finally popped up and waved at me and said you need to look at yourself,realize and admitt to the things that you can change in your marriage and change them for the positive outcome. Being a woman is a wonderful gift and we have all the power we need if we use it correctly and in a loving manner. This book actually works, I tried some of the tactics the first night and what seemed like a dreadful union is turning into a match made in heaven with the sun shining even on a gloomy day. And guess What? It changed, because of my decision to be loving and mature in situations that I normally would not be. Attitudes and outlooks on things really matter and if you want a change in your relationship, open your heart and mind, buy this book and follow through. One Love

A good man is just that-a good man-not a best girlfriend

Dr. Laura writes in a style I like very much. Her style is one of telling it like it is and it's straight forward. Very similar to Dr. Phil McGraw1s writing style. To me its no wonder both of these authors are best sellers. Drawing from her radio show, listener's letters and calls into the show, Dr. Laura presents real life experiences of what does and what doesn't support a healthy marriage. I especially found one listener's thoughts that "The care and feeding of husbands is, bottom line, to walk a mile in their shoes" very potent.



I am married to a Fire Department Captain, who is a caring, sensitive, and loving man. My husband is also a strong, masculine protector and provider. I've discovered that all of those qualities are the ones I fell in love with when I first met him and yet those are also the qualities I've tried to change over the years to suit my thoughts of how I felt he should be. After reading this book, I have a deeper sense of respect, admiration and love for my husband, for who he truly is and not for who I think he should be.



Another book that has had a profound effect on my relationships is called "WORKING ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP DOESN'T WORK" written by Ariel and Shya Kane.In their book, the Kanes present keys to having exciting and enriching relationships with your loved ones as well as yourself. I highly recommend the Kanes' and Dr. Laura's book for anyone interested in having and maintaining supportive and loving relationships.