Marriage by Design

The Keys to Create, Cultivate and Claim the Marriage You've Always Wanted

Non-Fiction - Relationships
244 Pages
Reviewed on 10/03/2014
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Author Biography

Eric A. Disney is a Recovery and Personal Growth pastor at a local church in Norco, California, where he has served for two decades. He is a counseling psychology graduate from California Baptist University in Riverside, California. His ministry covers a wide variety of healing issues including addiction recovery, post-abortion healing, sexual healing, and many others, and he offers a broad range of marriage, family, and relationship counseling classes and seminars. Eric conducts premarital counseling and has developed marriage classes for couples experiencing severe marital difficulties as well as those looking for marriage enrichment, both with a great deal of success. His passion for seeing people healed and marriages flourish has led to the development and implementation of several classes offered to the community. Eric has been an active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors since 1999.
He is happily married to his wonderful wife, Jennifer, an author and teacher who is also very active in recovery ministry. Together they are the proud parents of two boys.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Suzanne Cowles for Readers' Favorite

Marriage by Design: The Keys to Create, Cultivate and Claim the Marriage You've Always Wanted by Eric A. Disney is an insightful guide to the issues that plague couples and how to establish new patterns of behavior to avoid the “D” word (divorce). Many believe that all you need is love in a relationship without understanding the hard work required to sustain a lifelong marriage. Disney draws on his expertise as a pastor and counselor to lay out practical applications and personal testimony, wisdom and biblical reference. The book is divided into three easy to digest parts: laying the foundation, building the relationship and conquering issues that divide. Couples can establish a foundation of hope, faith and trust to restore their marriage commitment. This engaging book has “taking action” exercises, footnotes for quick reference and space for writing notes. The purpose of the interactive nature is to move from feelings to awareness of thoughts and examine beliefs to cultivate healthier behaviors. Common pitfalls are discussed so that fundamentals can be built to heal damaged relationships.

Based on Christian theology, a model of marriage is defined that is the end goal. Everyone brings their own unique perspective to the table, but is given the tools to lead by character. The ease and benefits to doing counseling workbooks at home is a strengthening of adult bonds, reaffirmation of love and a willingness to change for the better. Marriage by Design: The Keys to Create, Cultivate and Claim the Marriage You’ve Always Wanted by Eric A. Disney holds a wealth of information, offers inspiration and reminds us of God’s eternal love, which we mirror in our relationships after all. I highly recommend this well thought out self-help book for anyone who wants to take it to the next level.

Rattan Whig

Countless books have been written on relationships and specifically on ‘marriage’ – that one word that symbolizes a special relationship between two individuals. A relationship of deep trust, bonding, affection, love, promises, commitment, dedication and duty. A relationship which brings two different people together and fuses them as one. A relationship which, when nurtured with love, care and time, serves as a delightful reminder to all those around it of the beauty of companionship. When two individuals decide to embark on that relationship journey, when they decide to take the vows and decide on dedicating their lives to one another, why is it that certain of those relationships develop fault lines deeper and more prone to irreparable damage than others? A forlorn individual may derive hope of eternal bliss from the institution of marriage, while yet another may look at the same institution with contempt and disgrace. I guess there is no simple answer to the fact that such things do happen. Is it because of expectations (unfulfilled), or because of self-imposed goals that get in the way, or simply because of hastiness of an instinctive decision, or just a shift in priorities. One thing is certain, for whatever reason the cracks develop, the healing process is far simpler and more straightforward. All that it requires to start is, like in any other problem, an acknowledgement of the problem itself and an unshakable determination to resolve the differences, thereby healing the cracks, no matter how grave the differences may seem.

In Marriage by Design by Eric A. Disney, the author has brought out the above facts splendidly, along with the suggested remedies, which when done in earnest can do wonders to mend the broken fences. The language of the book is simple yet eloquent, and the examples quoted are meaningful yet convey the message unmistakably. This book undoubtedly helps the people who are facing troublesome situations in their married lives while also becoming an excellent read for all other couples, just to make them mindful of how cracks can set in within their relationships and, more importantly, how to approach the situation when the damage is still under the surface. This makes for an excellent read.

Teodora Totorean

Marriage by Design by Eric A. Disney is a practical book on how to improve or save your marriage, as well as how to start a marriage on positive terms in order for it to last and fulfil your life. The book starts from the premise that too many marriages in America end up in divorce, but if people lay a strong foundation from the very beginning, they can have happily ever after marriages. Each chapter concentrates around a main issue that can arise in a marriage, where Disney also gives a solution on how people can surpass that. Romance, communication, forgiveness, intimacy, selfishness vs. selflessness – these are just a few aspects that the author covers in his book. Each chapter is well illustrated with case studies and it finishes with useful exercises and a ‘notes to self’ section where readers can write their own thoughts on the subject covered in the respective chapter.

Marriage by Design by Eric A. Disney is easy and quite enjoyable to read. Although at first glance it may seem written for people that have experienced or are experiencing unhappiness in their marriages due to various causes (troubled childhood, personality, aspirations or life priorities), it can also be read by newly married couples as a ‘how to’ manual. The book offers viable solutions that can be applied by anyone such as establishing expectations, knowing one another or how to forgive and heal. All ideas that the author puts forward are accompanied by passages from the Bible, making the book more appealing to Christians.

Faridah Nassozi

Marriage by Design, by Eric A. Disney, is a nonfiction book aimed at helping one understand, prepare for and overcome the challenges that many married couples face. The book answers the very important question of why many marriages become strained along the way, why people in relationships sometimes behave in certain negative ways and what can be done to overcome these negative traits. Eric A. Disney details the main challenges that all marriages usually face, plus their root causes, and then gives advice on how to overcome them. At all times, the author emphasises the importance of putting God first in your marriage and trusting in His guidance. The book's intended audience includes married people facing challenges, those not yet married but looking for advice on how to prepare for the journey ahead, and generally anyone looking to put their relationship back on the right track.

Marriage is a challenging institution and you might not always feel the same way you felt on your honeymoon, but there is a lot you can do to put your marriage back on the right track and this book shows you how to do that. The way Disney wrote the book helps you understand what causes most problems in relationships; hence you can look out for signs of these factors. Then Disney shows you, in a very practical manner, how best to handle these challenges so your marriage can get back on the right track. I really loved Disney's writing style and tone, which made it easier for me to take in his advice and relate it to real life. Marriage by Design by Eric A. Disney is a truly enlightening and very practical book that would make for worthy reading by a married person looking for guidance on how to overcome relationship challenges, someone preparing for marriage, or just about anyone looking for advice on how to handle relationship challenges.

Mamta Madhavan

Marriage by Design: The Keys to Create, Cultivate and Claim the Marriage You've Always Wanted by Eric A. Disney is an uplifting and inspirational book that will make couples assess at their marriage with a positive outlook. The book will help them iron out the differences which are causing hindrances and blocks in their relationship and bless them in the process. The book gives many insightful tips for making a marriage successful and happy. The book covers difficult topics such as adultery, child abuse and much more, along with personal stories and incidents from the author's life, which makes it original and relatable.

The book is a handy guide to help couples work on their communication skills, trust issues and other areas which might require improvement. It is also a good tool for all those couples who are going through bad phases in their marriages and require help. The book has been written with much thought and care and it is filled with advice and sound wisdom. The most common problem in marriages, adultery, has also been covered and the author tells readers to establish a foundation for hope, faith and trust. The exercises and notes to self are beneficial to readers as it will help them reflect and ponder on their marriage and how to improve their relationships. All three sections are useful and guide readers methodically and in an organized way to work toward a happy marriage.

Tina Rodriguez

Once I heard Pastor Eric wrote a marriage book I knew it was a must buy.I have been married for 17 years and have not quite got to the place in our marriage I would like to be one day. Reading marriage by design has really help me take a look at myself and my actions and stop focusing on my husband and his flaws. It has encouraged me to defuse an argument instead of throwing another log to the fire. Whether you are a newlywed or been married for many years I recommend this book. Thank you pastor Eric