Team Us: Marriage Together by Ashleigh Slater

Posted June 9, 2014 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Team Us: Marriage Together by Ashleigh SlaterTeam Us: Marriage Together by Ashleigh Slater
Published by Moody Publishers on May 20, 2014
Length: 176 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:

What are you agreeing to when you say “I do”?

When a couple promises “I do,” they agree to more than just a shared last name, a joint bank account, and no more dateless nights. This husband and wife duo forms a new team. “Life together” becomes their mantra. Nothing can come between them. At least, that’s the plan.

But then real life sets in, bringing with it disappointments and frustrations. If the couple isn’t intentional in their day-to-day interactions, that once enthusiastic “we” can slowly revert to “you” and “me.” Before long, the couple’s left wondering what happened to their team spirit.

Team Us: Marriage Together offers couples practical ways to cultivate and strengthen unity in their marriages. Author Ashleigh Slater shares from her own marriage as she presents couples with realistic ideas on how to foster cooperation, deepen commitment, and exercise grace on a daily basis.

Team Us: Marriage Together by Ashleigh Slater is a fun, how-to guide for the newly married and not so new but old married couples. Ashleigh takes her own experiences and those from friends to give guidance about issues like building up your spouse and relying on each other in hard times. Her husband Ted throws in his two cents from time to time as well, giving insight to how a situation affected him or Ashleigh’s advice works in their marriage from his standpoint. Each chapter ends with discussion questions for you and your spouse which help put the advice given in the chapter into practice.

I was very impressed with Ashleigh’s advice and her ability to relay it in such a way that it kept my attention. She’s funny and it’s obvious that “living lighthearted” is important to her. She blends some of her life lessons with things she learned from The Princess Bride, Lost, and I Love Lucy. The effect made the point or advice she was making come across a little easier for me as I could relate to those pop culture references just as easy as her real life experiences. I felt that for a newly married couple that may not have experienced some of what is discussed (like children, first big argument, etc) the pop culture references make it relatable to them as well.

I loved the “Ted Says” blurbs hat popped up at random throughout the book. Ashleigh’s husband Ted gives a man’s perspective to some of the advice Ashleigh gives and also gives insight to how a situation or shared experience affected him. It also serves to appeal to the husband who may read this book.

The discussion questions are hard. At least for my husband and I to answer they were. The questions make you consider day to day life, but also the harder situations like grief and how to rely on one another at that time. Like the books title, it truly makes you a team. The questions were relevant even to us at eight years of marriage, but I feel that they would stimulate a good working relationship with a newly married or soon to be married couple.

Overall, this marriage advice book is more than just that. It’s a story about how two people raised differently come together as one, making a team and succeeding at it. It made me laugh out loud, cry at times, and had a profound influence on how I treat certain situations in my own marriage. I highly recommend it to anyone newly married or fifty years in, the questions raised are worth buying the book. What could it hurt, especially if it brings new life to your marriage.

About Ashleigh Slater

ASHLEIGH SLATER is a writer and editor passionate about seeing marriages at every stage thrive. As the founder and editor of the popular webzine Ungrind and a regular contributor at Start Marriage Right and www.iBelieve.com, The Time-Warp Wife, and For the Family, she unites the power of a good story with biblical truth and practical application to encourage couples. She has almost 20 years of writing experience and a master's degree in communication. Ashleigh and her husband, Ted, have been married for more than a decade. They have four daughters and reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

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