Book Review: Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

In this, my most recent book to read from Thomas Nelson, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs starts by pointing out that a majority of the problems faced by married couples today is a breakdown in communication. While this may not come as a huge surprise to many, Eggerichs proposes that the point is often missed due to the often overlooked relationship of love & respect. He explains that although men & women need both love & respect, women desire & seek out “love” as a top priority, men seek “respect” in the same way. The key, according to Eggerichs, can be found in Ephesians 5:33. Lacking an understanding of the deeper meaning in this verse, can lead to a vicious cycle of women feeling unloved and men feeling disrespected. The book is filled with examples from his marriage as well as from others, and I think that any reader would be able to relate many of the “mis-communications” to their own marriages, & Dr. Eggerichs offers his thoughts on how this vicious cycle can be broken.

What I found to be very useful in the way Eggerichs approaches the subject is that he makes it clear that women having respect for their husbands doesn’t mean they should be a doormat for a husband that doesn’t give the same respect back. He does this in a way that seems to clarify the verse in Ephesians in a way that shuts the door on men using it as a way to gain control over their wives as it’s been used in the past.

One drawback for me was that Eggerichs tended to repeat ideas at times, and although the book was a quick and interesting read, it could have been a bit shorter. Overall, I think “Love & Respect” would be a good book for any married couple who experiences frequent or occasional breakdowns in their communication. I really liked the biblical focus of the book, which tends to add even more credibility to Eggerichs’ way of thinking.