Category Archives: African-American

Literary Reviews on Novels and Non-Fiction Works by African-American Authors or works focused on issues concerning the African-American community.

Aug7

Christian Book Review | Right Package, Wrong Baggage by Wanda B. Campbell

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This book was a selection suggested to me by Amazon due to my history of reading and reviewing Urban Christian Fiction novels. It was pretty reasonably priced (at the time), and had good reviews. I purchased and downloaded it to my Kindle to read and I’m glad that I did! This book is a Christian-based complex love story that artfully tackles some major themes dealing with sexuality and celibacy. These themes are intricately woven into the storyline and the reader will find him or herself caught up in the the story of a young couple, Pamela and Micah.

When I first started reading the book, it opened with a family scene that seemed a bit far-fetched. Things just seemed too good to be true for Pamela. As a young single mother (widowed), she was swept off of her feet when a man from her church named Micah begins to court her and help her care for her son. However, it quickly became clear that the author was setting the scene for a sequence of events that would take the couple through a number of emotional ups and downs. Just when it seems like Pamela, Micah, and Pamela’s son Matthew are about to get their story-book ending, the past catches up with Micah and things begin to fall apart.

Often, Christian-based story lines are flat. They go something like this – pray enough and God changes things. While this is true, our human emotions often get in the way of us receiving our blessings. What Campbell successfully does in this novel  is contrast Pamela and Micah’s attempt to live by Christian principles with their difficulty overcoming their pasts. The two of them are deeply in love, but their issues are catching up with them quickly.

For Christians struggling to stay focused on God’s principles while being involved in relationships, this is an excellent read. It also speaks to single mothers and individuals struggling to over come drug abuse or issues that arise from being victims of molestation and sexual exploitation. These topics sound serious, but the book is really an enjoyable, well-written work that and is an awesome love story at its core. I rarely outright suggest that my readers purchase a book, but if Christian Romance is your genre, this is definitely the book for you. If you’d like to hear more about the book or the author, check out the summary below from the publisher and click the link  to visit Ms. Campbell’s website.

From the publisher:

For five years, Pamela Roberts, has balanced the demands of being a single mother and a devoted Christian. She unselfishly places the needs of her son, Matthew, above her own. Although she tries to convince everyone that she’s happy with Jesus alone, Matthew handpicks the perfect present for her—a husband. Everything about the man her son chooses is perfect, except for his past. Micah Stevenson is excited when he learns the son of the woman he has been praying about wants him to join their family permanently. Believing Pamela Roberts is his soul mate sent from God, Micah pursues her. Once he is certain of her love for him, Micah reveals his dark history, shaking the foundation of the once loving and stable relationship. Trust is broken as judgments and prejudices threaten to deny the couple’s destiny. Will the man he used to be prevent Pamela from loving Micah for the man he is now?

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Jun9

Article Review | NY Times ‘Going Natural’ Requires Lots of Help

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Debra's Hair (Braidout)

It’s time for me to confess! Hair care blogs are my guilty pleasure. I discovered the world of healthy hair care three years ago, right before I started law school. Shortly after that time, there was a steady, rapid increase in the number of African-American women “going natural.”

Apparently, the NY Times has yet again decided to write about this phenomenon. A new article in today’s issue features several popular bloggers/YouTubers on the natural hair scene. I’m familiar with all three of these women and I’ve followed their work carefully over the years, although I am not natural. (I have grown out my relaxed hair.) The article discusses how naturals need “lots of help” going natural. I would imagine that some naturals will take issue with those sentiments because they once again re-enforce the notion that natural hair is difficult, time-consuming, and costly. While it is true that many new naturals spend a lot of time and money on hair care, some do not. Many African-American women have never had relaxers, so they have managed their natural hair without “lots of help” for many years.

For the most part, the article was well-written. The author could have left out the reference to “Good Hair” because that movie was more of a mockumentary of the black hair experience than a documentary. The movie didn’t really discuss natural hair at all. It focused more on weaves and relaxers. Chris Rock also failed to acknowledge the healthy hair scene which was already in rapid bloom at the time the movie was developed.

Back to the NY Times article, one interesting angle covered in the article was money. While the love of natural kinks and coils is surely motivation for bloggers and vloggers to help other women, money is a big motivating factor as well. There’s money in beauty and when it comes to natural hair, women and companies are willing to pay up. Women are looking for the next best product. Companies are looking for the next best blogger to help them advertise.

All in all, the article was interesting. As an African-American woman with relaxed hair, I’ve moved away from the now natural-hair dominated hair blogs and forums, but I think they are a great resource. I didn’t care for the description of relaxers as “caustic paste” – more propganda, in my opinion. But, you can be the judge. Check out the article for yourself.

Jun9

Book Alert! How To Get Out of Your Own Way by Tyrese Gibson

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Actor/singer Tyrese Gibson has written a book entitled How To Get Out of Your Own Way. Normally, my eyes would gloss over at the thought of yet another entertainer writing an autobiographical how-to for the rest of us. But, after hearing Tyrese speak about this book on The Mo’Nique show, my interest was piqued. Tyrese lived the hard-knock life growing up in Watts, California. Despite his strained relationship with his family, this talented young man was able to hit it big in the recording industry thanks to his exceptional talent and a couple of lucky breaks.

It hasn’t been a smooth ride. His divorce and a few other events have been bumps along the way. In this book, Tyrese discusses how he successfully overcame these obstacles. He also shares relationship advice as he reflects on his recent divorce. The book has mostly 5-star reviews on Amazon, so I downloaded it on my Kindle. I’m studying for the bar exam, so I haven’t read it yet. While you’re waiting on my review, check the book out and let me know what you think!

Aug11

Christian Book Review | Murder Through the Grapevine by Teresa McClain-Watson

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Hello readers! I have another book review for you. I went to (gasp!) the public library to pick up some good reads for a recent plane trip. I made a great pick by choosing Murder Through the Grapevine by Teresa McClain-Watson. I chose the book, as usual, because of the publisher – Urban Christian Fiction. This company puts out great fiction works, that are Christian based, but urban-themed. These books aren’t preachy and you don’t have to worry about a lot of vulgarity and explicit sexuality.

Murder Through the Grapevine is a murder-mystery with a Christian fiction twist. The main character Roni Jarrett is struggling with the shameful events in her past while trying to turn over a new leaf as a minister of music at a new church and a management position at a salon. She has striking good looks, but very little going on in the love department.

Her life takes an unexpected turn when a childhood friend dies and Roni feels obligated to try to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding her friend’s death. She has not been close to her friend for many years; the young lady had become addicted to crack and it’s difficult for Roni to follow the trail leading up to her death. Matters become even more complicated when Roni begins to fall for the handsome Police Chief Don Gillette.

This book had enough excitement to hold my attention through a couple of plane rides. Unlike many urban fiction books, I was not able to guess the ending. There were lots of twists and turns. This is definitely a good book to read if you’re tired of the same-old same old Urban Christian novels. Even if you don’t normally read this genre, you’ll still be able to enjoy this book. The author tastefully adds excitement between Gillette and Roni without using any graphic language, or allowing the character to compromise her newly found Christian morals.

The only thing that I found annoying about this book is the series of bad choices that Roni makes quite irrationally. She continues to be naive about her dealings with shady characters, even after it becomes clear that her life is in danger. I understand that the author probably had to allow Roni to make such choices to keep the action moving, but it made the novel (slightly) unrealistic. Nevertheless, the silly choices that Roni makes lead to lots of action.

If you’re looking for an exciting urban novel, Murder Through the Grapevine is an excellent choice!

Jul21

Book Review | By Any Greens Necessary by Tracye Lynn McQuirter, MPH

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I’m just going to jump right into this review. This book is too preachy, bottom line. I picked it up while I was looking for raw food books and general vegan books in Barnes & Noble. A picture of a black woman on the cover jumped out at me because I had never seen a vegan lifestyle book by a black author (not to say they don’t exist, but this author claims that hers is the first).

Secondly, I’m a little embarrassed at the title…a play on Malcolm X…that’s a stretch. I had a guy friend who saw the book lying around my house and he immediately started making fun of the black nationalist-esque title.

As implied by the title, the book is targeted towards African-American females. I think that the references to traditional soul food cooking and the urban euphemisms limit the audience to that one group. Other readers might be distracted by the sister-girl talk. On the other hand, anyone with strong feelings about animal rights and may be looking to go vegan for ethical reasons, may actually be drawn to this book.

By Any Greens Necessary is broken down into 10 easy-to-read chapters.

INTRO & PROTEIN

The intro is typical “how I became a vegan” stuff, but it’s well-written and interesting. I would actually enjoy reading an autobiography about the author written in this style. She has a pet pieve about people asking about protein and a vegan diet, so chapter two debunks that “you can’t get enough protein” myth. I think she covered the topic well, and I learned a thing or two.

PREACHING AGAINST MEAT

Unfortunately, chapters 3, 4, and 5 are full of boring, slightly dramatic information about how disgusting the animal slaugterhouse is. While the information is true, the author underrates the intelligence of her audience by assuming that we don’t know that the way chickens, pigs, and even fish, are caught and killed is inhumane. The simple truth is that I, and most other readers, aren’t picking up the book for information on why we shouldn’t eat meat. We’re looking for information on why we should be vegan. (Essentially, why would she restrain from eating all meat products, including meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and cheese.)

In other words, putting in more positive information and a more detailed how-to guide on the vegan lifestyle would have been much more effective. I forced myself to read those three chapters and yawned all the way through them. The author talks about feces mixed in with chickens. I read that whole section….it honestly reminded me of how much I like to eat chicken. Speaking of chicken, the author portrayed black women as a bunch of lip-smacking chicken eaters who are dying while dining on chicken wings. The author was perfectly healthy and happy eating meat when she decided to make the lifestyle change to become a vegan. I don’t understand why she assumes that the rest of us are a bunch of greasy-lipped, chicken-smacking dummies.

PREACHING AGAINST DAIRY

I actually found this information to be useful. McQuirter breaks down some little-known information about “lactose intolerance” and it’s prevalence. She also explains why the term itself is a misnomer. I think this chapter is worth reading.

CARBS (yawn)

Okay, I skipped this chapter. I think talking about carbs is a little dull. Most of us know about good carbs versus bad carbs. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this chapter.

TRANSITIONING

I usually don’t comment on an author’s appearance but with a chapter entitled, “Lose the Weight, Keep the Curves,” I would expect the author to be curvy. Judging from the cover page, she’s not. I also did not like the assumption that her target audience had weight to lose. Again, there was too much of a focus on the negative. There’s plenty of black women with no curves, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why couldn’t she just say “have a healthy body?”

The chapter on how to transition to vegan foods will likely be healthful to those who are completely new to the lifestyle. The author shared her story, as well as the story of her sister and mother in earlier chapters. Here, she provides anecdotes from different people who have made the change to vegan foods. If anything, there should have been more advice like this in the book.

RECIPES

I’ll give rave reviews to this section, especially considering that the first recipe that I tried, Strawberry Cheesecake (a raw recipe!) turned out great. If McQuirter put out a vegan cookbook, I would purchase it.

Should You Buy It???

In conclusion, I’m not sure if I would purchase this book again. While the recipe section was good, I yawned through the animal rights stuff. I feel as if I could have gotten all of that information from PETA’s website….seriously. I would have liked a book that was focused more on transitioning to the vegan lifestyle and the unique challenges faced by African-American women. I would also have liked the book to be lighter on the sister-girl talk. I think the author is a strong writer, and clearly well-educated. If she put out another book, maybe a cookbook, I would pick it up – I’m just not sure if I would purchase this book all over again.

Mar14

Christian Book Review | Selling My Soul by Sherri L. Lewis

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Selling My Soul by Sherri L. Lewis

Selling My Soul by Sherri L. Lewis

Lately, I’ve had the hardest time finding new Urban Christian Fiction titles because the publisher, for some reason, decided to stop putting the script across the bottom of the cover page that declared the book was an Urban Christian Fiction title. Perhaps they want to appeal to a wider audience of urban fiction readers, or maybe the authors complained. Either way, this is the main reason why I haven’t reviewed any Christian fiction in a while – I couldn’t find any!

However, I’ve read three other titles by Sherri Lewis – The List, My Soul Cries Out, and Dancing With Destiny. So, when I saw her name, I immediately grabbed the book, excited to read it. I was even more excited to see that the main character of the book is a professional, a Public Relations expert by the name of Trina Michaels.

Trina is returning home from a two-year trip to Mozambique in Africa where she was doing missionary work. Needless to say, Trina is a devout Christian who has been trying for many years to lead her mother and her sister to Jesus. While in Africa, Trina meets a wonderful man named Gabriel who is in love with her. But, like many women, Trina is not open to love and struggles to commit herself to the relationship.

To make matters even worse, Trina’s mother is very ill and her sister’s life is falling apart. Almost as soon as she gets back to the States, Trina has to get back to work in Public Relations, even though she left her heart and her passion back in Africa. She is forced to make a very tough decision about whether to represent a Bishop Walker, her former pastor, despite his possible involvement in covering up child molestation in the church. Things are further complicated by the fact that Monica, from My Soul Cries Out, is Trina’s best friend. Monica’s husband was one of the victims of molestation at the church, further complicating Trina’s decision. Trina’s faith is tested, as she tries to work out her own life as well as help salvage the lives of the people around her.

I found this book to be an awesome read. Once I had time to sit down and read through it, it only took me a few days to work through the entire book. I enjoyed reading how Gabriel expressed his love for her, and it made me think about my own attitudes towards men. Just like in The List, there were a million different mentions of natural hair. At least in this book, they fit in a lot better because the character had cut off her relaxed hair during her extended time in Africa. I really liked the way Lewis intertwined the characters from her previous book to this on in a meaningful way.

The references to Mozambique and the conditions there were eye-opening. The author made mention of starving children and disease, and often mocked American consumerism and creature comforts. That might be the only part of the book that I was uncomfortable with. I think of myself as a conscious person, but there isn’t much that I can do about the fact that I was born here in America, and that as an American, I have been very blessed.

I would also like to read more titles with characters who are not just single and struggling or married and confused about their relationships…where are the Urban Christian books about mothers and students? What about older married people who have struggles that go beyond their relationships with each other. In this book, Lewis did a good job of showing that struggles as a Christian go beyond just relationships and sex.

I’m glad to be able to recommend yet another well-written Sherri Lewis work. Selling My Soul is an intriguing book for those who are devout Christians and those who are struggling to believe. Either way, you will relate to Trina or her family and their struggles.

If you read this book or another Sherri Lewis title, please share your thoughts in the comments section. As always, thanks for reading.

http://www.sherrilewis.com/

Oct16

Novel Review | PUSH by Sapphire

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push-novelMy review of PUSH by Sapphire is long overdue. During my frequent travels, I picked this book up in an airport bookstore and I didn’t put it down until the last page. The book is a very short one, but it was very powerful. I originally wrote this review in 2009 and slightly updated it in 2011.

PUSH is a heart-breaking tale of a young inner-city girl-turned-woman named Clareece “Precious” Jones who is brutally abused – sexually, physically, and emotionally by her father. The story becomes deeper and more disturbing upon learning that Precious is being abused by her mother as well. The poor child ends up birthing two children fathered by her own dad.

Precious is academically challenged, not necessarily because she is slow, but because she is unable to concentrate in school due to the trauma that she is suffering at home. Her mother forces her to eat so that she will remain overweight; her mother then molests her and forces her to perform sexual acts.

The first baby that Precious had is mentally retarded, and Precious is not able to see the child. Her mother is living off of the system; she encompasses all of the worst attributes of a woman living in poverty and despair. Surprisingly, the author did not make Precious’ mother a drug addict. However, she must have been mentally disturbed to do and allow such things to be done to her child. Precious’ grandmother, seemingly aware of the horrors taking place, is also living off the system and does nothing to help the girl.  Her grandmother is caring for the mentally retarded baby in order to receive money from the government for the baby.

An important change takes place in Precious’ life when her high school sends her to an alternative program. For the first time, Precious is able to talk about her problems and begins to learn; she experiences the joys of journaling and talking about her feelings. Her teacher genuinely cares about her, although she does give Precious some questionable advice about being a mother. The book mirrors Precious’ progress from being functionally illiterate to being able to express herself with words. The author’s writing is choppy and words are misspelled at the beginning of Precious’ journey, but the writing clears as Precious’ thoughts clear.

The reader begins to hope that Precious will be a success story, overcoming the years of abuse to become a strong mother and an educated person. She develops career goals, gives birth to her second child, moves away from her mother, and seems to be making progress. It was literally painful to read her thoughts as she begins to realize the depth of the abuse that she has suffered, questioning why no one helped her over the years, why the education system passed her on from grade to grade even as she wasn’t learning, and why the authorities didn’t step in when she was clearly being raped by and fathered a child by her dad. She begins to wonder what it’s like to be loved by a man, to have a real boyfriend, to have true intimacy rather than being raped, to have had a childhood, to have been “attractive” instead of fat, to be innocent instead of being victimized.

Despite the painful healing process, again the reader hopes….until Precious’ mother comes to visit her and reveals devastating news that will change Precious’ life forever.

I must warn potential readers of this book that it’s not for the faint at heart. I was reading about horrors that I never even imagined a person, let alone a young child, going through. I cringed as the abuse was described. I almost cried at the fate that Precious was doomed to.

Even though it is difficult to read this book without shedding a tear, it’s important for everyone to read, especially people who have not been through abuse and want to understand it. It was eye-opening and educational. It was a book that I will NEVER forget. The ending left me with many questions. Some have described the ending as being “incomplete.” However, I feel that it was best for the author not to tie the end of the story in a neat bow; after all, in real life, many of the issues faced by abused and neglected children are never resolved. In that way, this book accurately reflects life.

PUSH has been made into a movie, best known for Mo’Nique’s Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Hopefully, the book and the movie will encourage victims of abuse to talk about their experiences and seek help.

Jul20

Novel Review | Just Too Good to Be True by E. Lynn Harris

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too good to be trueE. Lynn Harris’ novel, Just Too Good to Be True, covers several important, and highly relevant, themes in American life today, from sports and gold-diggers to chastity and single parenthood; everyone will find something to relate to in this novel.

I initially picked up the book at the airport from Hudson Booksellers. The words New York Times Bestseller caught my eye. I had wanted to read a title by E. Lynn Harris, for quite some time and with a long flight ahead of me, I was glad that I had this book to keep me company. It held my attention through delays, rain, and turbulence.

What Was Good

The main character is Brady Bledsoe. Bledsoe is a promising young football star who looks like he is headed for a career in the NFL and a shot at the Heisman trophy. On top of that, he is a great role model as team captain, a devoted son, and has vowed to remain chaste until marriage. Brady’s mother Carmyn has raised him well, teaching him the virtues of waiting until marriage, working hard in school, and staying focused on football rather than girls in order to achieve his goals.

As the title implies, all of this sounds just a little “too good to be true.” Carmyn, Brady’s devoted mother is hiding serious secrets about her past, and about Brady’s father. Brady is struggling to maintain his “pure” image while making a series of secret choices that could devastate his future. When a young woman named Barrett enters his life, Brady finds it more and more difficult to maintain his clean image and even more difficult to maintain his close-knit relationship with his mother.

By the end of this book, everyone learns something about being true to who you really are, the importance of family ties, and just how difficult it is to keep from suffering a fall. Most of the struggles faced by the characters were realistic; the pressure on athletes and single moms are easy to relate to.

What Was Not So Good

I would have liked to know more about the future of some of the secondary characters, like Barrett, but I guess Harris is saving the rest of their stories for a different novel.

My criticism of this book is that, like many urban novels, the book is riddled with graphic sexual images. The author does a great job of “show, not tell,” and intimately describing what physical interactions take place between characters; but, sometimes, it’s just a little too much. Describing exactly how who-did-what seemed out of place in a book with such strong themes of chastity and family. It almost seemed as if the author was ridiculing people who make celibacy vows, by implying that they aren’t ever really being kept.

Looking back, it seemed strange to me that Carmyn was able to keep secrets about Brady’s father for so long. Why didn’t Brady notice that he never met his grandparents? Why didn’t he ever ask his father’s name? I found some parts of the plot unbelieveable and a little too strange to be true.

If you don’t want to read about characters who are homosexual, or men who are GP, “gay for pay,” then, this may not be the book for you. The one character in this book who was uber-masculine was quite suspect in his sexual practices. Again, there seemed to be a hidden message in making the male character who was the most active with women, and the most macho, the one who was most likely to be engaged in questionable acts with men.

While I enjoyed E. Lynn Harris’ writing style, I would rather read a bestseller that is less sexually graphic. It will be a long time, if ever, that I read another one of his titles.  You can find this book just anywhere, including local bookstores and Amazon. After this title, I think I’m going to go back to reading Urban Christian Fiction, and non-fiction titles.

Update! Only days after I read my first book by E. Lynn Harris, the literary legend passed away. I wrote about it here. I send my condolences to his family and fans.

Jun2

Christian Book Review | The List by Sherri Lewis

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the listOne of my latest reads was The List by Sherri Lewis. When I saw the title on the shelf, I quickly picked it up and purchased it. I have read two other titles by Sherri Lewis – Dance into Destiny and My Soul Cries Out. The title “The List” caught my attention because making a list of all the qualities one wants in a partner is something that is often suggested, especially by older women to younger women. “Do you know what you want in a man?” people often ask a young lady who says she is searching for a mate. After reading the back of this book, it seemed like I’d get some answers about what this list-making is all about! The bright yellow cover with the picture of a pretty black woman with a cute curly afro were simply adorable.

So, how was the book? Well, I certainly enjoyed reading it. Basically, the lead character, Michelle, is a divorced young woman who is focused on her career, but longing for companionship. She suffers from a terrible case of hormone surges that seemed to be slightly over-dramatized as she continued to have emotional outbursts throughout the book. While it isn’t uncommon for women to suffer from terrible hormone issues, this is something that it seems like she would have gotten under control sometime in the past, even if she was suffering from a disorder. Instead, popping a few St. John’s warts suddenly helps her regain control.

Anyhow, she and her close friends go through several highs and lows, including weekly meetings and trying out online dating services in their quests to find a soul mate. One of the best things about this book was the variety of the characters. Michelle and each of her friends are dealing with unique circumstances. One friend’s husband had died, another is a middle aged virgin, and one is newly reformed from living a life of sin.

If you’re struggling to find the right man, and trying to go about it in a Godly way, this book may give you the tools you need to do some self-reflection, to help you think about what you’re really looking for, and to focus your efforts in the name of God. It won’t, however, teach you how to “make a list.” The story does remind those who are searching for a soul mate to thinking deeply about what they are looking for.

However, if you’ve been searching for a very long time, you may find some parts of the cookie-cutter ending for Michelle and her virgin friend to be quite unrealistic -or, maybe you’ll find it to be hopeful. The author almost implies that if only you live a Godly life, have faith, and try, then a Godly man will fall into your lap. That’s simply not the case for many of us. Nevertheless, it’s important to keep hope alive. Just recently, a woman at my church who is over 40 found the man of her dreams. She’s been faithful to God and, even though a long time passed, in her words, “There’s hope for all of us.”

The author made many references to pop culture, natural living, and other popular themes. One reference that I didn’t like was that a light-skinned long-relaxed-head ex-wife in the book was characterized as an evil golddigger, while Michelle whose hair was natural and was a brown-skinned Bohemian beauty was somehow the ideal woman. Is this really a big deal? For me, I found that some of the references to natural hair and living threw me off from the message. Maybe you should read the book and decide for yourself…. Overall, it was a very entertaining book and I enjoyed reading it. Sherri Lewis remains at the top of my list of favorite Urban Christian Fiction Authors (along with Mimi Jefferson – Mimi, I’m eagerly awaiting your second novel!)

Ms. Lewis has an adorable website! Check it out at: http://www.sherrilewis.com/. You can read excerpts from all three of her novels, and connect with her on social networking sites.

Apr11

Book Review | Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey

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steve-harveyThis has to be one of the hottest relationship books out right now for women!!! When I was in the salon a few weeks ago, I saw 3 women carrying it around and reading it under the hair dryer! Of course, I jumped on the bandwagon and purchased the hardback book for about $25 from Barnes and Noble (You can find it cheaper on Amazon.com).

Although it is a relatively short and easy read, I must say that it was worth every penny. Steve Harvey qualifies himself to write this book based on his experience as a divorced man, a happily remarried man, currently in a long term marriage, his work helping women with relationship problems via “Strawberry Letters” on his morning show, and all of his time dating, traveling, working, and observing people as a comedian. This book is different from a lot of relationship books, first, because he keeps the premise of the book simple. As a man, Steve recognized that men are simple creatures and that women can basically be in control by setting certain standards, communicating them from the start, and acting like ladies as we communicate with men. The Three P\’s (Profess, Protect, and Provide) are how Steve describes what men are motivated to do for the women that they love, and how they use the three P’s to communicate their love. A lot of the information consists of basic truths that many of us feel, but don\’t recognize. Ladies, if you’ve ever had that “something is wrong” feeling while in a relationship, this book will help you identify and clarify what he is thinking during different phases of your relationship.

If you are a man, you may benefit from this book as well. It might help you recognize why your communication with your woman is failing. This is definitely a good read, infused with comedic relief to soften the harsh blows of reality. After you reading this book, you may find a way to make things work….or let things go.

A recent criticism that I heard about the book is Steve’s advice on sex. He advises women to wait three months to have relations with a man – and only if he has met the standards that Steve lays out. A Christian writer criticized the book for going against Christian values and “okaying” pre-marital sex, while making references to finding a man that loves Jesus. However, when I read the book I felt that Steve was saying to wait at least 3 months, not that women had to wait only three months. In reality, three months may actually be a lot longer than many men and women date before becoming intimate.

If you are looking for a guide to help you better understand the differences between men and women in relationships, you should definitely check out this book. If you are looking for a Christian dating book or advice on how to remain celibate, you may want to pass on this read for a more traditional title; however, you’ll be missing out on a lot of practical dating advice from a pretty credible source.

If you found this review to be helpful, please leave a comment below.