Book Review: The Truth About Dating, Love, and Just Being Friends by Chad Eastham
The Truth About Dating, Love & Just Being Friends
This book is one of the latest sent to me for review from Thomas Nelson. I chose this book from a queue primarily because I had opportunity to met the author, Chad Eastham a couple years ago when he spoke at Revolve Tour stop in Dallas, and because the content appeared to be something my students are always dealing with, DATING.
Let me begin by pointing out, and perhaps cautioning you that this book is written for a teenage reader. I wanted to read this book so that I could have it in my library ready to loan to a heartbroken or struggling student in our youth ministry, and thus would require a proof-read. I did find it hard to gain momentum in my reading. This is not a book that kept me super interested and blazing on to the next page, but I believe that is 100% due to the fact that I’m an old married guy and no longer dealing with high school romance in my own life. My students, however, are doing just that.
The information and advice in this book is spot on. In fact it echos my response to many students seeking guidance with these same issues. I found myself a bit critical early on in the book, wondering why Eastham, a Christian author and speaker did not include scripture or basically any other reference to God in his advice. I mean it’s when we chose not to live our romantic lives according to God’s guidelines that things go wrong, right? Well, let not your hearts be troubled. The author does include much scripture and references to his own relationship with God, but he holds his cards rather close at first. As the book progresses, Chad included more and more faith-based prospective, and I believe he starts small and then gains momentum so that he does not immediately turn away a non-christian teen, after gaining their trust shares his faith in a way that is both appropriate and I feel will prove effective.
While this was not a page turner for me, I’m certain it would be for a teenager, which is the target audience of this book. Having read it, I would quickly recommend it to any young person with questions about love, dating, or relationships. And as anyone who works with teenagers or has ever been one can attest, that should be around 100% of them.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
delighted to share. 