Last week I wrote a post on the 5 LESSONS I’VE LEARNED IN MARRIAGE and I received a comment asking which books have helped Marco and I in our relationship.

To be clear, please understand that I am the same as you. Marco and I do not have a “perfect” marriage (whatever that means?). We disagree, we’re rude to each other at times, and we don’t always see eye to eye.

Even so, I love Marco more than anyone on this planet. I appreciate the living love out of him and he is truly one of my favorite people. I know that ultimately, he wants the best for me and I for him.

All that said, there were definitely things we did before we got married that REALLY helped to prep us for marriage (like, REALLY prep!). We read books, did counseling with Psychotherapist, and did pre-marital counseling with someone at our Church.

Here are the books that really helped us:

1. Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married

2. Before You Plan Your Wedding… Plan Your Marriage

Both of these books were REALLY great at bringing up potential problems and struggles that we would encounter in marriage and they each gave us an opportunity to talk through things and how we’d respond…before they happened.

3. The 5 Love Languages

This is one that EVERYONE can relate to, in a relationship or not. It’s such a powerful book in showing you how to love other people, the way THEY need be loved. And how to ask for the love you need.

Bonus: Receiving Love

This is a workbook that I recommend going through WITH a professional counselor. It was really powerful in helping us to 1) understand our childhoods 2) communicate and 3) really respect one another.

A Book for Marriage

Okay, I haven’t read this book so I am not endorsing it, but I did want to share that this is the next book on our list now that we ARE married (on August first it will be five years!). I’ve heard great things about The Meaning Of Marriage. It’s in my Amazon cart now.

How We Read Together

To read these books, Marco and I would make dates out of it. We’d each have a copy and we’d read aloud, taking turns (I did most of the reading). We’d discuss what we read and answer any questions the book prompted us with. This was SO helpful.

I hope this post is helpful! Do you have any favorite relationship books? Share them with me in the comments. 🙂

Disclaimer: All of these books have a Christian background because Marco and I both have a personal relationship with Jesus. Regardless of your beliefs, each book has very helpful nuggets within it that were (and still are) extremely powerful for each of us). As you read, allow yourself to pick and choose what resonates with YOU.