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    Marriage Carol
    Marriage Carol
    Marriage Carol
    Audiobook2 hours

    Marriage Carol

    Written by Gary Chapman and Chris Fabry

    Narrated by Chris Fabry

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Jake and Marlee, a typical couple, are about to call it quits. Over time they have drifted apart; the sparks are dead. Marlee is convinced she married the wrong man and Jake feels tied down to the wrong woman. Jake is distant and tired of being controlled while Marlee is tired of being the only one trying to the save their marriage. They go to bed Christmas Eve, in separate rooms, each rationalizing...life is too short to be miserable...love shouldn't hurt like this...their marriage must end for happiness to return. But their lives are about to take a turn. The ghosts of Marriage Past, Marriage Present, and Marriage Future reveal to Jake and Marlee how past choices, present realities, and their potential future might look if they do not change their "stories". Jake and Marlee experience a Christmas gift that will radically change their thinking and cause them to look at marriage not for what they can get out of it but for what God can do in and through their marriage.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristianAudio.com
    Release dateSep 1, 2011
    ISBN9781610452281
    Author

    Gary Chapman

    Gary Chapman--author, speaker, counselor--has a passion for people and for helping them form lasting relationships. He is the #1 bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages series and director of Marriage and Family Life Consultants, Inc. Gary travels the world presenting seminars, and his radio programs air on more than four hundred stations. For more information visit his website at www.5lovelanguages.com.

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    Reviews for Marriage Carol

    4.5/5

    37 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A light Christmas read. Full of hope and Christmas magic. I read it without thinking about the author. After I finished the book it was obvious the author's biases towards marriage weighed heavy on the book. But it was interesting and I was glued from the beginning to the end.
    • 5/5
      Very good! Useful for our world and what people go through or are not willing to go through today.
    • 5/5
      Don’t Miss This Touching Christmas Read!Maralee and Jacob have had it with their marriage. The final paperwork for the end will be signed on Christmas Eve. While driving to their destination the snow falls heavily and the roads are getting very slippery. Jacob decides to take a shortcut through a mountain pass and this is where Maralee’s journey begins.Can man/woman say when a marriage is over? What about God? I found this book to be very insightful, touching, and healing. If it doesn’t make you think about your own marriage something is wrong. There is always room for improvement. A gentler kinder voice, uplifting words, a praise or two when due, maybe even a loving touch.If you are reading this review, I urge you to pick up a copy of A Marriage Carol. You will not be disappointed!
    • 5/5
      A Marriage CarolChris Fabry, Gary ChapmanThis is a story about a couple on their way to sign divorce papers. It was snowing heavily and due to an accident they do not make it. They are barely talking before the accident. Than Marlee, the wife, has a life altering experience at a home that is used as a marriage retreat by the elderly couple that lives there with their dog. Through out the story the problems and the actions of the couple in their life and family are realistic and it is easy to see how a couple falls into these patterns and resentments. It is with care, wit and warmth that the elderly couple have an influence on Marlee. Because the reality one person can make a difference in the marriage, whether it is the offended party or the offender. There are always exceptions to this, however given time and effort marriage is worth fighting for. This was a copy given to me by Net Galley in exchange for a review. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book.
    • 1/5
      Marlee and Jacob Ebeneezer are on their way to their lawyer's office in a snowstorm to sign their divorce papers on Christmas Eve. An accident carries Marlee and Jacob through the past, present and possible futures of their lives depending on their impending divorce.What I Liked:I'm a fan of A Christmas Carol and enjoy watching and reading the many different ways the story can be told. I was intrigued by the synopsis I read on Net Galley and downloaded it because of that alone. I'd never heard of the book before then. The description of the snow, the couple driving and snarking with each other on the way to the lawyer's office was the most vivid scene to me. I think any couple has moments like these. The little twist at the end when Marlee meets the old man's wife...I didn't see this coming and it was a pleasant surprise since I had already decided I wasn't crazy about this version. The images of Marlee and Jacob's early life together and how their relationship changed over time. For anyone who is in a later stage of their marriage, these scenes will be true to heart. The early, lovey dovey years, the hectic years when the kids are babies, and the growing years as the kids begin to make their own way and you find yourselves looking back toward each other again hit close to home for me.Like the original A Christmas Carol, the book is very short. This was very important to me once I started skimming. I'm one of those people who has a hard time putting a book away once I've started reading it. The knowledge that the story was a quick one was enough to keep me going.What I Didn't Like:As good of a message this is, the story itself is too predictable for me to "like." The story is a faith based story, but the authors almost hit the reader over the head with religious tropes. I am a Christian, but I think some readers, who may really need to hear the overall message of this book, could be turned off by the preaching early on. Even I skimmed through a lot of it.I thought Marlee was too calm for a woman whose husband/soon to be ex-husband was out lost in the snowstorm after the accident. Even though they were on their way to be divorced, I didn't see her sitting around "waiting" on what to do next. If someone is lost in a snowstorm, seconds can mean the difference between life and death.Marlee was the only one who actually experienced the Christmas scenes from the past, present and future. From the synopsis, I expected them to go through that together. I was actually looking forward to that. Marriage takes two...and in any situation where a marriage is splitting apart, it is usually not a one-sided ordeal (except, of course, in extreme cases). In this story Marlee seemed to be the one who wanted the divorce...all bc of an old flame from high school who drank a lot of Coors? Again, too obvious and a ridiculous example. When Marlee saw her future with the high school dude demanding for her to bring him another beer, I had visions of the movie The Urban Cowboy where Debra Winger's character is living with the ex-convict after leaving John Travolta. She comes in from the grocery story and throws a pack of cigarettes at him; he takes her by the hair and makes her pick the carton of cigarettes up. I actually rolled my eyes when I read this part of the story. The obvious made the story feel on purpose and rushed and cheesy.Um, the melting snow as the visual for the scenes from the past, present and future was pretty silly and "magical" to me...unbelievable. Good grief.Marlee was worried that she might have gotten into a car with a serial killer, but she wasn't all that worried about being alone with an older many she's just met in his home during the night of a snowstorm. Huh? Again, completely unrealistic.Overall Response:This book was just ok to me...I do realize that it may very well be a wake-up call for some couples. Can this book stop a divorce...probably not. But, maybe, especially around the holidays, it might remind a husband and/or wife of all that they have together. Maybe. I also couldn't help but wondering what a great story this could have been had some of the simpler issues been worked out and even developed into a much richer storyline. If the authors don't have time to develop a story worth reading, what's the point?Recommendation:This little book might be a helpful gift for a couple in trouble who have a lot more together than they do apart...and just need a reminder. I don't review negatively much, and I always feel bad when I do...just because I didn't like this story doesn't mean someone else won't.
    • 5/5
      Marlee and Jacob Ebenezer. I love it already! Marlee and Jacob are on their way on their twentieth wedding anniversary to sign the papers that will end their marriage when a car "accident" sends them careening off the road. And where oh where do they end up? When Marlee comes to, Jacob is no where to be seen. She starts off on a journey to find Jacob and comes across a cabin where she meets Jay and his wife. Now, this is no ordinary couple. You saw that coming, right?!It seems Jay is the "ghost" that will take Marlee on her visits to the past, the present and the future by using a great plot device...magic snowfall!! And like the Dickens' inspiration, this snowfall allows Marlee to see things in a different light, how our decisions in life affect our present and our future. In some ways, I also was reminded of the spirit of "It's A Wonderful Life" in that we can make or break our own world and the world of the others around us.Authors Chris Fabry and Gary Chapman have woven a magical tale in "A Marriage Carol", one that shows us that we can do great harm in our relationships with others and that we do have a "cause and effect" system in our lives, both for the good and the not-so-good. It shows us that in this cynical world, where we throw relationships away when they get difficult, that marriages are for ever, for better and for worse, and that God brings life into the marriage.Brilliantly written, this little book (under 130 pages) has more warmth and heart than others twice is length. I just can't tell you how much I enjoyed this magical story.This book will find its way under the Christmas trees and into the stockings of a lot of my friends this Christmas, and I think it will become my new favorite gift for friends about to be married. God bless us, everyone!5 out of 5 stars!This e-galley was provided to me at my request, by the publishers through NetGalley.