Glaen: A Novel Message on Romance, Love and Relating - Review

Product Description: Annie is a college grad-student who is stumped about love. Her mom and dad are in the throes of a divorce, her teenage sister is obsessed with how her boyfriend makes her look, and her closest friend Jennah is on a continual ride of running off every guy she dates.

Friendships, dating, romance, and marriage—it's all confusing to Annie until the day a white-haired stranger appears in her life. Glaen is an unusual professor with an unusual name. Her white-haired unconventional mentor guides Annie on a path of discovery that unlocks the secrets of real relationships in a world gone phony. By abandoning herself to learn, Annie discovers the mystifying affect of how learning to tell the truth changes everything in friendship, family, and love.

The solutions Dr. Lybrand offers in this book will astound and free you to quit doing the very things that take away your ability to find the love and friendship you want. More importantly, you'll discover a fresh path to the possibility of greater connections with those you care most about. You'll want everyone you love to read this book...twice!

My Take: Dr. Lybrand uses a story to share his recipe for a successful marriage.  The first thing to note is that I thought the story was cheesy and unrealistic.  That's the only downside to the book.  The concepts the author lays out are mostly common sense but he has organized them in such a way that the basis of a good marriage are all contained within the book.

There are a couple of things that I really appreciated about the book.  Stupid as it sounds, I needed the white space.  Each page contains one or two paragraphs with plenty of white space to contain my own thoughts and reflection.

Next thing I really liked is the way the author introduced each concept.  Like I said, I thought the story was a little cheesy but I realize it had to be the way it was in order to uncover each concept.  Annie, the protagonist, goes through a process to define each concept.  In her journal she consistently writes her observations in the form of "Lie" then "Countering Truth."  I found this format extremely helpful because the book approaches the socially accepted story and counters with the truth.  For instance:

"Lie - If you follow the right process, you will be guaranteed a good marriage.

"Countering Truth - No process can guarantee a good relationship, because there are no future guarantees in relationships. Relationships happen in the present."

The book progresses and Annie uncovers many nuggets of excellent guidelines for good marriage.  On a personal note, I have been married for nearly 19 years to a wonderful man.  Being married to a wonderful man does not guarantee a constant state of bliss.  I learned some habits I have been practicing that I will now be conscious of changing to improve the way I relate to my husband.

Worth reading and worth owning.

4 stars