8 Books That Will Strengthen Your Marriage

Do you feel like you need an extra boost in your marriage? I think one of the best ways to strengthen your marriage is by learning what the experts have to say about it. And while each relationship is different, there are some key concepts that research and experience shows that will make your marriage happier and last longer.

Here are some books that I highly recommend if you want that relationship boost or if you want to prepare for a long, happy marriage!

1) Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World that Pulls us Apart, by Bill Doherty

In this book, Bill Doherty does an excellent job at illustrating marriage as something that needs constant care and attention. He uses the analogy that a marriage is like paddling a canoe up a river. If you or your partner stops paddling, you are going to end up downstream. Likewise, we need to keep on paddling together in order to get to where we want to be in our relationship and constantly strengthen our marriage. 

You will find lots of valuable advice on how to avoid or get out of common pitfalls couples experience in marriage. 

2) Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last, by John Gottman

John Gottman is what I consider to be a true marriage expert. He has studied hundreds of couples and has the ability to predict divorce with incredible accuracy. In this book, he clarifies misunderstandings, shares how to see your marriage through new eyes, and helps you know how to combat the hidden forces in your relationship that seem to be attacking you both. 

3) The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, by John Gottman

This book is a must have for all couples! It dives into the most important aspects of how to strengthen marriage and keeping it alive. It also has a lot of questionnaires and activities for couples to do so they see how their relationship needs to improve. Chase and I went through a few of these before we were married and learned some valuable things about each other!

Even if you don’t read this book cover to cover all at once, it is a handy guide to turn to when you have specific questions about marital struggles. 

4) Sexual Wholeness in Marriage, by Dean Busby, Jason Carroll, and Chelom Leavitt

I absolutely love this book! I am reading it for school, and it is so engaging and insightful that I am going to keep it so that I can read it again over the years. It discusses how to have sexual wholeness in your marriage from the perspective of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But if you are religious and have high sexual standards that you live by, I think it will definitely apply to you as well.

It can be hard for some people to comprehend sex as a spiritual, emotional, and physical experience. Too many people try to separate the spiritual from the physical and believe that sexual pleasure can’t possibly be spiritual. Well, this book addresses that concern and more! It teaches you how to address sexual concerns within your marriage and how to meet the needs of the spouse who has a higher desire for sex and the spouse who has a higher desire for emotional connection. 

5) Purity and Passion: Spiritual Truths about Intimacy That Will Strengthen Your Marriage, by Wendy Watson Nelson

This book discusses physical, emotions, and spiritual intimacy and how you can increase your marital intimacy. It also refers to eternal principles believed by those who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I still think it could be helpful for any spiritual couple to read who want to strengthen their marital bond. 

I love how Wendy Nelson teaches that when you are pure, you can experience more passion in your marriage. This is something that is definitely not taught in popular culture today. 

6) 101 Nights of Grrreat Romance, by Laura Corn

I have a lot to say about this one because of the great memories it has helped me and my husband create!

My mother-in-law recommended this book to me, so I got it as a gift for my husband! It is filled with sealed pages of ideas on how to enhance the romance and connection in your relationship. Half of the pages are “for her eyes only” and focus on doing things the man would enjoy while the other half are “for his eyes only” and focus on doing things the woman would enjoy. This is a great book to get if you struggle to come up with date ideas that your spouse would enjoy.

My husband did one of these assignments for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. He made sure I stayed in bed as he had rose petals and roses leading to the bathroom where I found a hot bath with a bath bomb, a bath pillow, and a bag of Dove chocolates on the side! He also wrote a sweet note to me and made me breakfast. It was heavenly and I felt so loved! 

Kiss of the Week

Along with the romantic ideas comes a few other exciting things. There is a “kiss of the week” where it gives you an idea on how, where, or when to kiss your honey. One example is to go outside or in the garage and blow a whistle really loud until your spouse comes to see what’s going on. Once they find you, you give them a really big kiss that makes them glad they did. 

Passion Coupons

The other thing that I really enjoy are passion coupons. These give you permission to get creative with your physical passions. One of the passion coupons was to have one spouse whisper a seducing story into the other spouse’s ear. Some of these coupons may be out of your comfort zone, but I found that I have more fun when I do something that I’m not used to. (But don’t feel pressured to do everything! These are only suggestions and I have definitely tweaked how I do some of them.)

Pearls of Wisdom

Each page also comes with inspirational pearls of wisdom. These are fun to read and correlate nicely to the assignment you are given.  

7) The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, by Gary Chapman

This is a classic! If you don’t know your love language or your partner’s love language, I highly recommend finding out what they are. You can take this love language test, and then reading the book will help you learn more about those specific love languages and how to speak the language of your spouse. Definitely a great way to strengthen your marriage!

8) Real Love in Marriage, by Greg Baer

A friend of mine recommended this book. She has read almost all of the above books and said that this one impacted their marriage the most. I highly recommend looking into this one as it teaches you how to navigate the difficulties of marriage and teaches how to make it last.

Happy Marriage!

I wish you the best in your marriage and hope that one of these books will be helpful to you like they have been to me. If you want more relationship advice, subscribe to my email list!