Review of Smart Love
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Review of Smart Love
[Following is a volunteer review of "Smart Love" by Vincent Fudge II.]
"Love is weakest when there is more doubt than trust. Likewise, love is strongest when we learn
to trust despite doubt."
A book about honesty and taking responsibility in a relationship, Smart Love by Vincent Fudge II is a journal of a man in a toxic relationship. Fudge takes the readers step by step through the process of restoring his marriage using the SMART communication technique, all the while also mentioning anecdotes and incidents that give clues to what tarnished the marriage. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. The author gives truthful information and his version of the story of his toxic-marriage-turned-healthy tale. Starting with the very incident that imploded his marriage, the author travels back and forth per the need of the book's flow. The author mentions everything from the past and present state of his marriage, to the struggles in implementing and enforcing the SMART technique, to the success of his and his wife's efforts.
The best part about this book for me was the author's non-sugar-coated fact stating despite the book being about his long-standing struggles in a toxic marriage. Fudge takes the readers through every single step of the process of restoring his marriage, which almost feels like a couple's therapy session which is an admirable achievement for a book. He uses bullet points and proper organisation in the book which lets the readers see the facts and not have a clouded judgement due to taking sides and also helps the readers implement the suggestions and communication techniques mentioned in the book in their own lives.
It is easy to find content on the internet that tells you what to do when a marriage or relationship is falling apart, but extremely difficult to find content that tells you how to do it and that acknowledges the struggles that come with working on a broken relationship. This book mentions the struggles that the author and his wife went through during the restoration process which humanises the whole thing. Though not lacking in flaws, the author is extremely respectable for working on his marriage and himself even after extreme damage was done. It is also appreciable how the author takes into account the effect his marriage and its struggles have on his kids and how he and his wife have tried to minimise it. He acknowledges that his kids have also suffered and were an important motivation for his efforts in restoring his marriage.
I found absolutely nothing wrong with this book and I give it 4 out of 4 stars for its brutal relativity and honesty. The author has made the book useful for all stages of a relationship by mentioning where exactly things went wrong as well as how the restoration process works. His sincere hope for the readers to learn from his experience is evident throughout the book. I found no grammatical errors in this book so it seems thoroughly edited. It also contains a very useful summary of exercises and therapeutic procedures that are helpful at a glance.
I recommend the book to anyone going through a hard time in a relationship or to anyone looking to better the current state of their relationship as it includes some really helpful and effective communication exercises that work wonders if implemented correctly. However, I also recommend not to read this book in one go, or to read a lot of it at once, as it can get a bit overwhelming. I suggest the readers take their time with it and let all of the author and his wife's experiences settle in, and reflect on their relationships.
******
Smart Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
"Love is weakest when there is more doubt than trust. Likewise, love is strongest when we learn
to trust despite doubt."
A book about honesty and taking responsibility in a relationship, Smart Love by Vincent Fudge II is a journal of a man in a toxic relationship. Fudge takes the readers step by step through the process of restoring his marriage using the SMART communication technique, all the while also mentioning anecdotes and incidents that give clues to what tarnished the marriage. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. The author gives truthful information and his version of the story of his toxic-marriage-turned-healthy tale. Starting with the very incident that imploded his marriage, the author travels back and forth per the need of the book's flow. The author mentions everything from the past and present state of his marriage, to the struggles in implementing and enforcing the SMART technique, to the success of his and his wife's efforts.
The best part about this book for me was the author's non-sugar-coated fact stating despite the book being about his long-standing struggles in a toxic marriage. Fudge takes the readers through every single step of the process of restoring his marriage, which almost feels like a couple's therapy session which is an admirable achievement for a book. He uses bullet points and proper organisation in the book which lets the readers see the facts and not have a clouded judgement due to taking sides and also helps the readers implement the suggestions and communication techniques mentioned in the book in their own lives.
It is easy to find content on the internet that tells you what to do when a marriage or relationship is falling apart, but extremely difficult to find content that tells you how to do it and that acknowledges the struggles that come with working on a broken relationship. This book mentions the struggles that the author and his wife went through during the restoration process which humanises the whole thing. Though not lacking in flaws, the author is extremely respectable for working on his marriage and himself even after extreme damage was done. It is also appreciable how the author takes into account the effect his marriage and its struggles have on his kids and how he and his wife have tried to minimise it. He acknowledges that his kids have also suffered and were an important motivation for his efforts in restoring his marriage.
I found absolutely nothing wrong with this book and I give it 4 out of 4 stars for its brutal relativity and honesty. The author has made the book useful for all stages of a relationship by mentioning where exactly things went wrong as well as how the restoration process works. His sincere hope for the readers to learn from his experience is evident throughout the book. I found no grammatical errors in this book so it seems thoroughly edited. It also contains a very useful summary of exercises and therapeutic procedures that are helpful at a glance.
I recommend the book to anyone going through a hard time in a relationship or to anyone looking to better the current state of their relationship as it includes some really helpful and effective communication exercises that work wonders if implemented correctly. However, I also recommend not to read this book in one go, or to read a lot of it at once, as it can get a bit overwhelming. I suggest the readers take their time with it and let all of the author and his wife's experiences settle in, and reflect on their relationships.
******
Smart Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Opaque by Calix Leigh-Reign
