Boyack is a little hard to read for me. I imagine her as one of those women who is quite pleased with herself all the time, and even if that's not true that's how I read her narrative voice so it's irritating to me ... true or not.

She has some good ideas, some of them I kind of chuckled about before I realized it wasn't another one of her little parenthetical jokes. Are you serious? Acrylic nails are part of being a good wife? I'm supposed to be my own date until Husband finds it in his heart t More...

I was disappointed with this book. I was expecting so much more, considering how stellar I thought Merrilee Boyack's "The Parenting Breakthrough" was. The first five chapters she goes on and on about how men are different from women and we just have to live with how they are, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't until the sixth chapter that she actually gives practical advice at how to deal with the annoying things he does and how to approach discussing issues with him. I still am not sure anything she s More...

Certainly practical, helpful advice from someone who's been there, in the middle of some real lousy arguements. I love her candor and voice. I don't like condescension in self help books, but she doesn't talk down to her readers. And there is no man-bashing, which I cannot tolerate. She tells the wives how to improve their side of the relationship and that's it. Any husband will be happy that his wife wants to read this book.

This book maintains a conversational tone, full of sisterly insight, common sense and brilliance. Perhaps the best book about marriage and being a happy wife that I have ever read. She recommends scriptures and points that have made an incredible difference in my perspectives and actions. Could not recommend more highly.

My only complaint about this book is the title. Do not let it deter you.

I read this book about 4 years ago and I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!!! It really helped me to communicate with my husband better. It also helped me to appreciate him more by recognizing the little things he does on a daily basis. Men are really very simple...give them love, affection and food and they are happy ( emphasis on affection :D ). We are the complicated ones! :D Seriously this book was so good. I would compare it to "The proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" by Dr Laura....but wa More...

I just finished reading this book and absolutely LOVED it! Merrilee Boyack is a fantastic writer for LDS women and she is quite funny too. I was on vacation with my husband's family this summer and my mother in law and sister in law were both reading it and they couldn't stop raving about how great it was. So, I decided "why not"?
I have a great relationship with my husband and didn't think I would need to read this type of book, but the more I got into it, the more it inspired me to want to bec More...

Great concepts and information. Here is the review I wrote for my family's book club:

I really liked this book. The information and concepts were great! It was a nice change from Dr. Laura. Even though I love the information and concepts found in Dr. Laura's book, I liked this author's tone much better. I've read a lot of nonfiction and self-help type books lately, so I had to take this book a little slower. I was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed, and her humor was a nice break (although I More...

before someone thinks I want to strangle Chad, that is NOT why I am reading this book. A cousin told me it was a great read with insight on how to improve as a wife. It is NOT a book about how to change your husband. I am just in Mommy mode so much of the time I wanted some inspiration on how to focus more on my role as the wife of the most wonderful hubby in the world! It has been very inspirational so far!

I finished and I loved it! Lots to think about and pray about in this book. I highly reco More...

Definitely a book I'd recommend to all of my married female friends, particularly those who want to look at marriage with an LDS perspective and have LDS sources quoted. I enjoyed the humor, though I didn't find myself laughing uproariously. Just a light-hearted, honest approach. Much of the tone reminded me very much of my friend Serene's blog. Many things I gained that I can apply to my life now. So much that I want to be sure I include and keep in mind when I am married--I hope I can!! A coup More...

I put off reading this book because I felt like things were pretty great between Ryan and me. However, when a friend told me it was great I decided to check it out, and was pleasantly surprised. I feel like the title may mislead some readers, or potential readers. It should really be something like, "How to Be Married to a Man."

Let's be honest, men are different creatures then women. Boyack writes a light-hearted book about how to be the best wife which will help your husband become his best sel More...

I found a few gems to help my marriage in this book. My favorite thought is that both partners is a marriage have strengths to create a whole partnership.

But this book also had stuff that caused me to feel guilty about the days I don't want to wear makeup. It felt like the pressure is on the woman to make the husband want to come home and not flirt with the ladies at the office (although as a woman reader I realize the author was speaking to her audience and the fact that we are only in charge More...

2.5 stars
The advice in this is mostly sound advice, though a little obvious. (At least, to me.)
Don't bash your husband, try not to look like a shlub all the time, etc.
Something about her was really irritating to me though. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it was the cheesy date suggestions, the importance on getting acrylic nails, or the frequent mentions of Krystal and her flower arranging class.
Anyway, a new bride might benefit from it, but for someone who already has a successful mar More...

Overall I think the book does a good job of reminding us of how we can improve our own thinking.
For the most part I feel there is nothing new that we haven't heard before. It was good to read it in hopes that it will sink in deeper one of these days! I guess I feel like I have had some knowledge of these kinds of principles already... I agree with most of what she says.
I did like the seesaw effect theory and Problem ownership.
Being a country girl at heart, I felt she really wanted us to all be More...

Loved this! Laughed a lot and learned a lot. Adam commented that when I was reading this, he could tell a difference.

Ideas I got from this book -

Treat him as if - treat him as if he's whatever quality you're wanting him to have.
Don't put other people or things, including children, before him.
Give myself time.
Spend effort on myself - my looks, my health, my knowledge.

Biggest idea I'm implementing - let him own his own problems. Don't fix it for him. If it doesn't hurt you, don't nag him (i.e. ho More...

Ok, so I think the 5 love languages is a better book. This book is about one women's experience and it's a typical guy girl relationship. Girl loves to chat, guy loves to watch t.v. type thing. If you fit the stereotype read the book, for those of us with more complicated relationships... well it leaves much to be desired. I would recommend it only because there are definite funny parts, but it wasn't so interested that I couldn't put the book down. It took me months and months to get through th More...

I pulled this book out of a box that someone donated to a garage sale we held recently. I read parts of it as we were driving to Thanksgiving this year and some of it made me laugh, some of it made me mad, some of it was profound and thought-provoking, and some was just plain weird. It is basically recommendations on how to improve your role as a wife and partner in a marriage...women lib advocates will have a fit, anybody else can take from it what fits and abandon the rest. It did tell me I ha More...

Great ideas and down to earth which made reading it fun.

Saw this at the library - merrillee boyack is HILARIOUS - so I'm looking forward to an entertaining read.

Hmm. So when people I know get married my present to them is usually Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. After I read that book I had the best 6 weeks of my marriage. That book has some real strengths - first and foremost it puts you *inside* a guys head when you can look at yourself as they see you. Why they think that way. Why I should do this a particular way. It lacks some gospel perspec More...

Okay. What to say. I could not finish this book. I have heard such good things about it that I actually bought it before reading it. Mistake! I have such a hard time with her tone. It's just oozing stereotypical Utah Mormon jargon that makes me want to vomit. I'm not sure why, but I have this aversion to referring to a husband as "hubby" and I'm pretty sure that's the only way she refers to husbands. I think there may have been some good things in the book, but I couldn't wade through all the 2- More...

My husband wasn't sure if he was in trouble or what when he saw me reading this! The humorous title grabs the attention of self-righteous women (like me) and then teaches them how to improve their husband essentially by first improving THEMSLEVES! A fun, yet intelligent and useful book to help you better appreciate/understand your marriage. It was like listening to a witty but spiritual speaker (the author IS in fact a public speaker at BYU education week, etc.) Made me want to be a better wife! More...

I think this book is a must read for any wife. I plan to buy a copy for my daughter who isn't even dating anyone serious yet and put it away for her to read during her one-day engagement period. I loved learning about the different cycles in marriage, the "SeeSaw principle" (keeping emotional balance), and "NMP" (not my problem; don't try to fix everyone's problems). My favorite quote from the book: "you can't 'fall out of love,' because love is something you decide". I admit the title of this More...

3rd Blurb. President Kimball couseled, "Many couples permit their marriages to become stale and their love to grow cold like old bread or worn-out jokes or cold gravy.... These people will do well to reevaluate, to renew their courting, to express their affection, to acknowledge kindness, and to increase their consideration so their marriage again can become beautiful, sweet, and growing."

2nd Blurb from the book. "You need to nourish your body for YOU, not just your husband. You want to feel goo More...

I've heard Merilee Boyack speak at Time Out for Women; she is hilarious and I have enjoyed her talks. Having said that, I was disappointed in this book. I found it irritating that her advice started with "get a makeover and exercise." I spent the rest of the book wondering if anyone has written a book giving men similar advice. I doubt it.

There is some good, practical advice in this book but the beginning irritated me and I never quite got over it.

Sensible advice presented with a touch of humor, although the author has a self-satisfied air that smacks of condescension at times. The three things I’m contemplating: Use of “I messages;” pick one thing about yourself to work on at a time; and the following thought by Wendy Watson: “…perhaps there are times the more effectual prayer of each spouse needs to be: Please help me to see this situation from my spouse’s point of view."

Another fun read from Merrilee Boyack. Though I have never felt like strangling my husband, I'm sure there are more than a few times that he's been frustrated with my attempts to get him to be more like me. This reinforced ideas I knew, added suggestions for improvement, and opened my eyes to a lot of silliness I think is of utmost importance.

A perfect read/reminder/re-inforcer for any wife who wants a good marriage or to be a better person.

You should have seen my husband's face when I pulled this baby out of the mailing envelope. I guess I should have forewarned him about the title!

I thought it was a decent book and heavens knows I love the author, but it didn't resonate with my like some of her others. She made a couple points that I look forward to implementing, but overall, I felt like it was just like all the other marriage help books.

This one made me laugh, and it had some great tips. My only complaint was she put emphasis on how we need to try and make ourselves pretty because no guy likes an "all natural girl." I agree we need to take care of ourselves physically but I don't think that means dying our hair and putting on mascara. :) I think her point was that we shouldn't be slovenly, but I don't think make up is required for us to look nice.

Otherwise, a fun read.

Reading again - I really like the tip that at 9pm the kids More...

This was a fun read! I was happy to find that I was more or less doing (or not doing, as the case may be) many of the things she was talking about in the book to be a good wife. But there were a lot of fun suggestions, stories, and insights in the book. I enjoyed it, and my marriage, though good already, will benefit from some of the suggestions gleaned from this book.

Good common sense and insight. Ms. Boyack is able to get her point across without sounding demeaning or sexist like so many of these books can be. I probably would have enjoyed her sense of humor in another type of book, but I didn't really think it was appropriate for this one and it annoyed me a little bit.
Other than that, I liked it.

Wow! The title of this book should be "How to take a chill pill and not be so boring, controlling, and frustrating and keeping your husband from his eternal potential!!" WOW! I thought I loved Dr. Laura but this lady is amazing. Honestly the best LDS book on marriage I have ever read!! It's actually really sarcastic and funny but you dont get the feeling like she's yelling at you (like Dr. Laura!) Not to mention all the scriptures and quotes from latter day prophets. This is going on my night st More...