cover image Is This the One? Insightful Dates for Finding the Love of Your Life

Is This the One? Insightful Dates for Finding the Love of Your Life

Stephen Arterburn. Zondervan, $19.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-310-32614-4

Christian counselor and broadcaster Arterburn (Every Man’s Battle) is a trusted source of advice about relationships. He lays out a systematic plan for mistake-proofing a relationship, which depends in part on something simple but frequently overlooked: don’t be in a hurry. He also advocates a second, equally sensible practice: consider the alternatives, that is, date someone else. The comparison shopping and extended dating approaches are rational ways for singles to conduct themselves to avoid incompatibility, error, and heartbreak; indeed, they seem a little too reasonable for matters of the errant, hopeful hearts that beat in those who date. Certainly, Arterburn offers advice drawn from hard real life; a chapter on red flags to avoid can save people heartaches. But the book is marked more by confident speech than real-life examples that illustrate the wisdom of his advice. Arterburn also asserts that the frequently cited statistic that half of all marriages end in divorce is “urban myth.” Yet he offers little support beyond this assertion. (Apr.)