Kevin A. Thompson

Author, Kevin A. Thompson, is a pastor. As a pastor, Thompson has witnessed many marriages, divorces and deaths in his more than a decade of service. Given his role, this book leans heavily toward holy references, but I loved that he opened each chapter with a bang, quickly grabbing the reader’s attention and drawing you in.



For instance, Chapter 7 lists several Nobel Peace Prize recipients and other historically significant individuals, and, while each person mentioned holds significant prestige, they have something else in common as well – divorce. Thompson’s point isn’t to show that divorce is inevitable and that we are all headed to that ending, but rather to provide reference that success and accomplishments in one’s life do not translate to success in marriage. Just like one works hard in their occupation, one must work as hard, or harder, in their relationship.



As an athlete and “newly” married person one passage that really stood out to me was on page 103:

Ask a coach, “How’s your team?” and they know how to answer. Ask your co-worker, “How are sales?” and they know how to answer…. But ask someone, “How’s your marriage?” and they will fumble and stumble. Why? Because most people never look at marriage as something that can be improved. From the very beginning, they take a passive approach to their relationship, failing to understand its true nature. They treat it as though it’s out of their control. They pretend like marriage just happens.

This is powerful, because people constantly ask, “how are you doing” or “how’s married life” and I just respond with the typically “fine,” but after reading this I have begun to view these questions from the point-of-view of the team coach or class teacher. Is “fine” truly how it is? Or are “sales” behind? Or has your “team” had a string of losses recently? No passionate coach responds to the question “how’s your team” with a halfhearted “fine” that many of us are used to responding with when asked these questions personally.



There were MANY points made throughout Happily that resonated with me. My marriage of only two years is certainly fresh, but whether you’ve been with your spouse months or even decades, the advice within is seemingly sound.



For the full review visit: https://fortheloveofthepageblog.wordpress.com/



*Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.… (lisätietoja)

One of the things that I liked the most about this book was that it looked at the three levels of a marital relationship listed in the title. It definitely opened my eyes to what was missing in our marriage and what we needed to improve upon in order for us to feel more complete together.

This book can easily be read with your spouse or just talk about every night or so. There are questions you can ask yourself at the end of each chapter and that really had me reflect on in our marriage specifically.

One thing that I should mention is that Thompson is a pastor and brings up a few religious items within the book. However, there is nothing heavy, spiritually, that he includes. The inclusion of religious or spiritual themes didn’t bother me but helped me realize other things in our lives since we are Christians. I know people are oftentimes touchy about religion but this book uses it effectively in this book and focuses on marriage rather than chastisement.

Since this is a book about marriage, there is indeed discussion of intimacy within marriage. Everything is clean and the section on lovers sticks with the positive aspects of it in your marriage rather than specific things to do within that realm of intimacy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My husband and I discussed several things as I read a section every night and it gave us an excuse to talk about some hard topics or things that hardly ever come up in day to day conversation. I’m planning to reread this throughout my life.… (lisätietoja)

I'm married to my best friend. That's what I tell people who don't know me and want to know who my husband is. He's my best friend. When we met, I was leery of another relationship. My first marriage was not the greatest. Too many bad things happening. I didn't trust any guy. But, my husband patiently persisted and one day I took a leap of Faith after praying hard, and 4 years later we are still married. Do we fight? Oh Lord, do we ever! But, one thing I can say is we stay friends through it all. We work our problems out. We seek advice if we need it. We never give up.

Kevin A. Thompson is an author I'd not heard of before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book, especially with it being a non fiction book. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! He takes three key aspects to making a marriage work and tells us why they work. It's definitely something I have taken to heart and really want to work on with my husband! The way Mr. Thompson describes these aspects really make me reflect on my marriage now. Four years of happiness with my best friend, sure. But, there is more that we can be doing to really make it work.

This is a 4 star worthy book, in my opinion! I enjoyed his writing style, as it makes it easy to read this non fiction book and to not get bored reading it. If you are in a happy marriage, or a marriage that you aren't sure if it's going to make it, then I highly recommend this read! It will help you think and reflect on what your doing now, and what could improve it. Definitely a great partner read with your spouse!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Reads and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*… (lisätietoja)