Intimate Allies (Allender & Longman)

In Intimate Allies, the authors (a theologian and counselor) start with five fundamental questions of life:
1. Who are we?
2. What are we to do?
3. How are we to do it?
4. What will be the fruit of our labor?
5. What is wrong with us and our world?

They then translate these into the marriage relationship, and devote a section of their book to each:
1. Who are we as husbands and wives?
2. What are our roles as husbands and wives?
3. How will we work together as husbands and wives?
4. How do we experience the deepest, most profound intimacy of body and soul?
5. How do we, two sinners, learn to live with each other?

Each section starts with an example (from their counseling experiences) of a couple struggling with the question at hand, delves into relevant theology (looking at the Creation story and other Scriptures), and finishes with an 'update' to the original example, showing how the couple is now working through things.  This books is very much a 'what' book- covering fundamental principles- and not a 'so what' book- recommending practical steps based on that knowledge.  In that way, it's very different than a lot of relationship books I've read.

Some general quotes from the book to give an example of its content:

Marriage is a paradigm of God's pursuit, passion, and purpose in creating and redeeming his people.
The goal of marriage is twofold: to reveal the glory of God and to enhance the glory of one's spouse.
Our only option in all encounters is to glorify or to degrade.
Mutual submission is the only workable party to a strong marriage.
Marriages are the crucible not only for sin to be exposed but also for forgiveness to restore relationship and intensify our hope of heaven.

I enjoyed and was humbled/challenged by this book.  As I said, it doesn't offer practical ways to do things differently in relationships, but it does offer a different way to look at relationships.  As our actions are based on the way we look at things, change will come if we change our outlook.  And so this book has its value, just not in the way I was expecting.

Rating: A-