Book "Great Parents, Lousy Lovers" by Dr. Gary Smalley & Ted Cunningham

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About the Book: You love your kids . . . but where did the intimacy go? 

From changing diapers to playing chauffeur, it’s easy to spend so much time and energy on your kids that at the end of a long, exhausting day, you have nothing left for your spouse. Too often, being a great parent comes at the expense of having a great marriage.
In Great Parents, Lousy Lovers, relationship experts Dr. Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham, authors of From Anger to Intimacy, show you that it is possible to be a great parent and a great lover. This book will help you and your spouse to begin reinvesting in your marriage—not just your children—because the best foundation for great parenting is a happy, healthy marriage.
Filled with wit, wisdom, and practical advice, Great Parents, Lousy Lovers will help you move from a frustrating, fatiguing, out-of-balance, kid-centered marriage to a strong, life-giving, fulfilling, couple-centered relationship.



About the Authors: 

Dr. Gary Smalley - Gary Smalley is one of the country's best known authors and speakers on family relationships. He is the author and coauthor of 16 best-selling, award-winning books along with several popular films and videos. He has spent over 30 years learning, teaching, and counseling. Gary has personally interviewed hundreds of singles and couples and has surveyed thousands of people at his seminars, asking two questions: what is it that strengthens your relationships and what weakens them? Gary's books combined have sold over 5 million copies. Many of them have even been translated into various languages. "The Blessing" and "The Two Sides of Love" have won the Gold Medallion Award for excellence in literature. "The Language of Love" won the Angel Award as the best contribution to family life. All other titles have been top-five finalists for the Gold Medallion Award.

In the last 30 years, Gary has spoken to over 2 million people in live conferences. He has been presenting his live two-day workshop, "Love Is a Decision," once a month for the last 20 years. Television audiences all over the world have viewed his award-winning infomercial, "Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships." Several versions of the infomercial--first with Dick Clark, then with John Tesh and Connie Sellecca, and also with Frank and Kathie Lee Gifford--have been aired. This 18-videotape series has sold over 4 million tapes.
Gary Smalley has appeared on national television programs such as "Oprah," "Larry King Live," "Extra," "The Today Show," and "Sally Jessy Raphael," as well as numerous national radio programs. Gary has been featured on hundreds of regional and local television and radio programs across the United States.
Gary and his wife, Norma, have been married for 40 years and live in Branson, Missouri. They have three children, Kari, Greg, and Michael, and six grandchildren.

Ted Cunningham - Ted Cunningham is the founding pastor of Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, Missouri. He is the co-founder of Two Ignite and co-creator of Tripfire.com. Ted is a speaker with the Smalley Relationship Center and has co-authored three books with Dr. Gary Smalley: The Language of Sex, From Anger to Intimacy and As Long As We Both Shall Live. He has been a guest on Focus on the Family, Life Today and Moody Radio. Ted met his wife Amy on a blind date at Liberty University and determined to marry her that night. Although he didn’t ask her that night, she said "yes" to his proposal a year later. Now married for 13 years, they both love taking road trip sand boating on Table Rock Lake with their 2 kids, Corynn (6) and Carson (4). Ted is a graduate of Liberty University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a bandwagon Chicago Cubs fan, although he won’t admit that again until they are in the playoffs.

My Review: We all deal with this issue of problems in marriage. The question is, how do we respond? Dr. Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham give us some insights on the problems they faced and analyzed during years of counseling in their church and the result is this wonderful book. It is very well written, easy reading and funny. They describe using simple words all common issues that happen in a daily basis with a marriage couple with kids. Through 20 chapters they suggest very well defined roles, behaviors and attitudes that will help us turning our kid-centered home into couple-centered home and they could not stress more how important this change is for the kids. They go over the importance of laughing together, fighting together as a team, taking care of insecurities and enjoying great sex.
Definitely this is a book I would recommend to any couple that already have children or intent to have any in the future. It is a great asset to your permanent library. It is really easy reading. It took me about 8 hours to read the entire book.

This book was written by Dr. Gary Smalley and Ted Cunningham in 2010. It was published by Tyndale Publisher House also in 2010 and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their blogger book review program. If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.