A Marriage Made in Heaven: How to Find and Keep a Spiritually Satisfying Relationship

by Ehud Sperling

Defying her culture and tradition, a successful, highly educated Tamil Brahmin woman writes a letter to a prominent American book publisher who disillusioned with love in the Western world advertises in an Indian newspaper for an arranged marriage. Her letter launches this book s remarkable correspondence. What follows is an epistolary evaluation of compatibility, gender roles, love, and the way to find and keep a spiritually satisfying relationship. In this intimate exchange of more than 60 letters, they raise as many questions as they answer and reveal the secrets of sustaining a love that encompasses the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Deliciously funny and profoundly moving, this improbable love story may just change how you view relationships.

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Karina]

I don't usuaally give up on books-but this one I finished only by skimming the last half of the book.
I liked the visuality of the book (it was composed of the couple's love letters & postcards, as well as pics they traded of each other) with background of the interview process & snags they encountered getting married.
The issue I had reading this book was the tone of the letters themselves: they seemed overly preachy.
Now, this would be a great read for any young person approaching marriage or anyone who's curious about Indian marriage ceremonies & dowries, etc. I'm 35, married 15yrs this August & have Indian friends so I feel pretty immersed in this information already.

[Sashi]

Correspondence between a brahmin girl and a jewish man over potential matrimony. Interesting story/bio: a south indian brahmin micro biologist from Child Trust Hospital (Chennai, no less!) responds to a Jewish publishers search for a bride from India. They correspond, and then match horoscopes (which incidentally matches fantastically) and then marry, all within 9 months. The book is a collection of their
correspondence. The story was over 10 years old, so I guess the marriage survived.
Something I cannot put my finger on bothers me about this book. Too clinical and feelingless maybe? Very well written though.

[Lisa]

This was both a lovely story of a relationship in the making and an intersting look into the culture of arranged marriages. I did find it a little bit preachy.