Book Review: The One by Ryan and Amanda Leak

I want to say first in my defense that I thought this book was advice about how to have a happy marriage.  I wasn’t until I received it and started reading that I realized it was really about being single and preparing for marriage.  Ryan and Amanda Leak’s story about how they got engaged and married on the same day is really a sweet story, but it’s only a very small part of this book.  They proceed to tell you how you can have a great marriage like theirs, beginning by living it up while you’re single.  The blurb on the back of this book says,” If you’re looking for average, go ahead and put down this book. No hard feelings.”  Throughout the book they give what they consider to be great advice about how to make yourself into the best person you can be for your future spouse.  This includes making a list of the traits you want in a spouse, and then working to make sure you have those qualities yourself.  This in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but this book becomes annoying very quickly when Ryan and Amanda indicate that their love story is amazing, and if yours doesn’t match theirs, it’s ordinary.  I take offense to this.  The Leak’s dated for five years before they got engaged and married, and apparently broke up several times.  This included one period when they broke up because Amanda’s mother hated Ryan.  I think when you tell young people that their love story needs to go a certain way, or it isn’t amazing, you’re setting them up for heartache in the future.  Everyone’s love story is different, and each one is beautiful and amazing in its own way.  Comparing yours to someone else’s can lead to disappointment and discontentment in your life and relationship.  This is a book I would not recommend to anyone, especially not to  someone who is searching for a spouse.

Lyndsie

I received a free copy of this book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own, and a favorable review was not required.