Official Review: Til Death Do Us Part:A Marriage Survives...

[ciecheesemeister]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Til Death Do Us Part:A Marriage Survives the Stress of Military Life" by Viranda I Slappy.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Till Death Do Us Part Marriage Survives the Stress of Military Life by Viranda I. Slappy is a biographical account of a couple named Carlos and Virginia Slaughter. The couple met while Virginia was still in high school. Carlos was very charming, and it wasn’t long before Virginia ended up becoming pregnant. They married young and had two children, a boy, and a girl. The family moved to various military bases throughout the world. Carlos’ drinking, infidelity, and eventual physical abuse of his wife and children came close to tearing the family apart.

I appreciate the fact that the book touches on the topic of the high-stress life led by military families and the increased possibility of one or more family members developing substance abuse issues because of these stresses. The people discussed in the book are real people the author has encountered, whose names have been changed.

The thing I like best about the book is the author’s forthright and honest manner of telling the story. Addiction and the effect it has on relationships is an important subject. Many families are fractured by having a family member with substance abuse issues. The book also touches on the issue of codependency, a dynamic wherein non-addicted family members may inadvertently enable the addicted family member's negative actions.

I give Till Death Do Us Part Marriage Survives the Stress of Military Life three out of four stars. I do not think that the book was professionally edited. The author tends to switch between past and present tense a great deal. There are problems with the formatting of the book. There were several occasions where two or more words were pushed together. The book is enjoyable, and the topic of substance abuse is important, but having the text professionally edited would make for smoother reading.

There wasn’t really anything that I disliked about the book. I generally feel that less is more when it comes to describing intimate interactions, but I am not bothered by graphic erotic scenes if they are well-written. The intimate scenes in this book felt authentic and not as if they had been included for shock value or for the purpose of titillation.

I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in gritty biographies and in psychology, particularly psychology focusing on understanding and treating addiction. I would not recommend the book to readers who would be bothered by graphic sex scenes, strong language, or descriptions of physical abuse. There are a few scenes describing coercive physical encounters, which some readers might find upsetting as well.

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Til Death Do Us Part:A Marriage Survives the Stress of Military Life
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[xoxoAnushka]

Your review has presented the utmost-sensitive-issues of the book. Nice review!

[Salma_asa]

I like biographies because i can relate to the characters and events more . I am eager to read this. You wrote a great review.

[Amy747]

Addiction and codependency are definitely horrible things that I know too well. I was lucky to escape it but many others arent so lucky.