Author: Father Pat Connor
ISBN: 978-174-175-9150
Taking relationship advice from a priest is a strange pill to swallow. One that I was interested to see play out through the pages of “Whom Not To Marry- Time Tested Advice From A Higher Authority”.
Father Pat Connor takes the view (and rightly so) that he has witnessed many marriages, he has seen them when they’re in the flourish of new love, to when the shine has worn off and the newlyweds are struggling. He has counseled countless couples through every kind of relationship saga and been the shoulder when it all falls apart.
Connor bases the book on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and a passage that is often heard at wedding ceremony “Love is patient, love is kind…” and each chapter focuses on one aspect of the passage.
Some of his basic tips?
- Never marry a man who lets you walk all over him.
- Never marry a man who makes you feel bad about yourself.
- Never marry a man who doesn’t know how to apologize.
But that’s just the start, on each point, Father Pat highlights basic relationship advice but takes it one step further. Things you take for granted in your every day relationship are suddenly thrown into the spotlight to be looked at closely.
Throughout the book, Father Pat adds short stories of couples he’s counseled, wisdom from married couples, as well as highlighting the main points in each chapter.
Father Pat’s writing style is humorous and gentle – he knows his stuff and backs it up with insightful thoughts and sometimes, heartbreaking stories. It feels like a quick turn in pre marriage counseling without leaving the house. Even if your relationship is sound it has a few nuggets of gold that can be carried forth.
As with any relationship guide, this isn’t a book to live by, but it has some great seeds of advice that just may help a couple about to walk down the aisle. It highlights red flags, dismisses other concerns and on the whole advises you to be sensible and enter your marriage in an authentic way- which really is the only way to enter marriage.
