Catholic Review of: ABC's Of Choosing A Good Wife

I recently read this book to compare it with The ABC's of Choosing a Good Husband and my opinion on both of the books remains the same.

 

It is still a practical guide for those coming from ideal homes and not so practical for those of us not so blessed to be born into ideal families.

 

I repeat from my original review: I would not recommend this book for anyone who comes from less than an ideal home - it will only encourage a feeling of despair.

 

The ABC's of Choosing a Good Wife is a companion book to The ABC's of Choosing a Good Husband - a practical, down-to-earth, easy-read from a father to his daughters on how to find a good man. It also shares information on how to be a good potential spouse. Many red-flags are listed such as dependence on alcohol and chemicals, lack of faith, etc.

 

Unfortunately, some of the red-flags, while *true*, come across as harsh and can make one feel as if there is no hope. (example from my original review which still applies here) A young man cannot help it if his parents divorced when he was an infant and his primary role models for married life growing up were two sets of grandparents who stayed married until the day they died. This means that for a potential spouse, the red-flag will be "broken home" - while the reality is that the man is balanced enough to depend more on learning from his grandparents than from his own parents (and to learn from mistakes of the parents and follow the example of the grandparents) - but the book entirely ignores this premise and would not even give that young man a chance. Period.

 

(continuing the original example) And what of the young ladies reading this book trying to find a good husband? It reads both directions. If *she* is from the broken home, she is the one left feeling like a potential marriage will never work because she is utterly stained. By-something-she-had-no-control-over.

 

Any church teaching is mostly right-on with this book, but the practical reality is that people from "broken homes" DO have the ability to live out a holy sacramental marriage. This book entirely ignores the sacramental graces God wishes to bestow on every couple who seek His ways first.

 

You can purchase The ABC's of Choosing a Good Wife at Aquinas and More Catholic Books.