When God Writes Your Love Story, by Eric & Leslie Ludy

When God Writes Your Love Story is a book in the same vein as Boy Meets Girl, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World. As these others do, authors Eric and Leslie Ludy present the case for abstinence, prayerful marriage preparation, and deliberate, caring, dating. One aspect of this book, however, sets it apart from the rest -- it is the inclusion of the idea that young people ought to prepare for married life by living with one's family as one would with one's spouse. The authors offer helpful, specific suggestions on how to practice being selfless now so that one will be well-versed in selflessness once married -- they encourage women to respect and care for their fathers and brothers as they would their husbands, and they propose that men care for and learn about their sisters and mothers as if they were their wives.

Unfortunately, When God Writes Your Love Story shares an oversight with most other books in this genre: it is that they overlook ambitious young people and those who are happy with their temporary singlehood. This book & company always include a chapter telling the single person to keep his chin up, someone will come along soon -- but they never address one's love life in relation to a career, which gives the impression that these books are written only for those with no drive or clear path in life.

Though the authors' arguments are strong if not original, this book's real weakness lies in its writing. The Ludys are overly self-deprecating in their attempts at humor and humility. This becomes grating, as well as the fact that the authors lean too much on stereotypes to amuse the readers: their efforts are mostly based on the Mars-Venus assumption that while women are sensitive and angelic, their husbands are clueless, unhygienic brutes. Additionally, it's hard to take the book seriously because the writing itself is immature. It's far too excitable -- something that one could expect in a personal email, a blog post, or in a note taped to the refrigerator -- but hopefully not a published book.