1. 

   Reader Views
   April 2nd, 2010 - 11:59

   Reviewed by Tammy Petty Conrad for Reader Views (5/08)

   I enjoyed this book from the lighthearted beginning to the serious ending. The author’s relaxed style made me feel as if we were chatting over coffee. His style of handling complicated, emotional concepts with simple and straight-forward language helped me see things in a much clearer way than I ever have before. And I was married twenty-two years!

   The book is based on the author’s seminar on improving marriage. A funny look at a serious subject, it has proven to be helpful to many, many couples, partially because he addresses topics from both the male and female perspectives.

   “We get “much revenue” from being joined to another person…” but as he goes on to say, “There is no such thing as a poo-free marriage.” Well maybe this language is a bit too direct, but it does sum up the fact that as beneficial and wonderful as marriage can be, there are always problems to deal with.

   There is so much wisdom in this book that I finally got the highlighter out and started marking page after page. I know I will reread sections from time to time just to refresh my memory. And of course there’s lots of laughter to be found throughout the pages. One example stands out: “You were smoking marital ganja if you expected marriage to be a life filled with constant waves of joy, where every morning birds sing you awake and little bunnies help you sweep the floors as the chipmunks wash the dishes.” Amen.

   As a pastor who has counseled many, Mark Gungor uses the Bible as his reference. “The Bible never tells us to find the one God has chosen. It teaches us how to live well with the person we have chosen.” A man of strong opinions, some might not agree with everything he has to say. Young couples might doubt some of his wisdom. I on the other hand, a seasoned woman who has been through one marriage, see the wisdom of his words loud and clear. Even though I’m not currently married, I can see the value of the information for my current relationship and will encourage my companion to read the book so we can discuss and implement some of the methods. No matter one’s age or experiences, there are loads of valuable ideas to take from the reading.

   Rating: 5 / 5
2. 

   E. Schmidt
   April 2nd, 2010 - 14:07

   I preordered this book directly from “Laugh Your Way America,” and have been reading it for the past few days. I was married for nearly 22 years, and was widowed last year. I’m in a new relationship now, and this book looked like a good resource for getting a better understanding of what it takes to be a successful, happy couple (it doesn’t always happen naturally). This book is insightful, witty, and really does explain some of the basic differences between men and women. If you want a better understanding of the opposite sex and how those differences can affect relationships, this is THE book for you!

   Thank you, Mr. Gungor!
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. 

   RebeccasReads.com
   April 2nd, 2010 - 15:35

   Reviewed by Leslie Storey for RebeccasReads (7/08)

   This book is about the differences between men and women and how it affects their relationship with each other. The concept is similar to many books out there but the author puts a slightly different spin on the principles by including scriptures when applicable and humor. The author, Mark Gungor, is a pastor at Celebration Church in Wisconsin, a motivational speaker, musician and CEO of Laugh Your Way America.
   
   He includes real life experiences, both his personal experiences and experiences of those that he counsels or attend his seminars.

   I will admit that the title is a bit misleading. I’m not sure what I was expecting; maybe how to laugh in your marriage and this book didn’t provide that information. It did, however, provide a lot of insight into men and women and how they think or process information and how it will affect their spouse. It gave me a lot to think about when I request things from my husband and how he might act or react. Overall it is a good book and one that was an easy read.

   There is a section in the book called Sex, Lies and the Internet that is directed towards men in particular. Sure men may read the whole book but he starts the chapter by welcoming the men and saying that if they are like most guys they flipped to this chapter first. I’d say that he is pretty accurate with that statement. Women will learn from this section too, so don’t skip it!

   There are a few quotes and passages that really struck me from this book and made me rethink how I view marriage whether it is my own or someone else’s.

   “…finding someone to journey with in marriage is the slenderest part of a life-long relational journey. Marriage is more about work than about divine luck, more about finding someone to love than about finding someone to meet your own laundry list of personal needs.”

   “Dare to believe marriage is good, that the one you are in is good. Dare to ask God to help you treasure it, appreciate it, and stay committed to it…”

   I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to strengthen his or her relationship or wants to ensure that it continues to be successful.
   
   Rating: 4 / 5
4. 

   Kelly M. Potter
   April 2nd, 2010 - 16:09

   Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage is NOT just for married people! It is a funny, effective look at the fundamental differences between men and women. Everyone could learn from Mark Gungor’s book. I highly recommend it!! Kelly is CA
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. 

   Someone's Mom
   April 2nd, 2010 - 17:02

   We’re doing the series in a group at my church and currently we’re about halfway through the video and discussion series. Here’s my problem with the book/course: I’d estimate that about half of the couples doing the program kind of want to ‘tweak’ a marriage which is rusty, and occasionally problematic, while the other half of us showed up wanting to fix a marriage which at times feels desperate — you know, the “go days without speaking to each other, how the heck did I ever end up with you in the first place, is that all there is to life” situation. “Laughing your way” is pretty good for helping the first group, but pretty darned near useless for the second group. In other words, there’s a pretty big difference between being pissed off at your hubby because he leaves the toilet seat up and being pissed off at your hubby because he hates your children who also happen to be his stepchildren. Obviously, fixing the first situation is significantly easier than fixing the second.

   My husband hates the series. The word he keeps using is “simplistic” — it’s all that Mars vs. Venus stuff which most of us already know anyway, and the series doesn’t go deep enough in terms of actually identifying resentments, nor is it biblical despite the fact that it’s used at many churches.

   And at the risk of getting all “shrewy feminist a la Kate gosselin or Hilary Clinton or something”, I sometimes find that he tends to emphasize altering behaviors over actually looking at the situation and thinking about whether or not it is actually unjust or inequitable. For example, he talks about how women multitask and men “just can’t multitask” and, according to him, that’s why the wife finds herself simultaneously making dinner/checking homework/unloading the dishwasher and setting the table/answering the phone/packing the kids up for soccer while the man reads the newspaper. His solution — accept that your husband can’t multitask! However, that still leaves the problem of the fact that there are six tasks that need doing and the woman is frequently doing five of them to the man’s one. See? There it is again. He never addresses the underlying resentment issue.

   Also, he seems kind of fixated on sex as the solution to many marital problems, basically stating that if people are kind to each other and therefore they end up having more sex, then their marriage will improve. On some level, it’s a bit condescending — suggesting that women who’ve been married twenty years have no idea what men are like or vice versa. I’d argue that this is kind of the “bridges of madison county” of marraige books — simplistic, feel good, and if you’ve never read a book before, you might like it. But then again, you might have lower expectations than some of the serious readers or connoisseurs of self-help books. YMMV.

   Rating: 3 / 5

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