Book Review: The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy'

The Busy Couple’s Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy by Kathy Peel

Publisher: Tyndale House
Price: Softcover $16.99

Author Bio (from Tyndale Site)

Kathy Peel is founder and CEO of Family Manager, a company that trains women in the art of family management. She has written 21 books, selling more than 2 million copies. Her latest works are The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Happy, Organized Home (winner of the 2009 Gold Mom’s Choice Award) and Desperate Households. She is AOL’s Kids & Family Coach, and she contributes to many publications, including FamilyFun, Parents, Woman’s World, Family Circle, and HomeLife. A popular speaker and media personality, Kathy’s Family Manager makeover stories have appeared on programs such as Oprah, The Early Show, The Today Show, and HGTV.

When I first heard the title of The Busy' Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy, I thought it would a a theoretical book, more about the couple's relationship than about specific chores. Instead, the opposite is true.  This is a super-practical book, really about managing and dividing up specific tasks.

The book is divided into nine chapters, each dealing with a specific area of "family management," such as "Managing your Home and Property," Managing your Finances, " and "Managing Special Events."  At the end of each chapter there are various charts designed to help the couple figure out their priorities and plans for tackling those areas.  The book does not so much set up a specific system to learn as it tries to give each couple the tools to figure out the best system for their family.

I found The Busy Couple's Guide to be very easy to read and full of useful tips.  While I don't think at this point I could quite get my husband on board to go through all the charts and outline each area of our life, I think the book would be useful to pull out if we were having trouble managing a certain area.  It definitely could be a good way to open up discussions.  I could especially see the book as useful for a young couple just starting out, a couple having marital problems, or a couple going through a significant life change.  While it will definitly appeal to the very organized couple out there, my husband pointed out that it also would probably be ideal for the very disorganized couple who really needs order in their lives.

The Busy Couple's Guide to Sharing the Work and the Joy retails for $16.95, but it is $12.23 on Amazon right now.  I also find myself wanting to read Kathy Peel's previous book, The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home, which is also discounted on Amazon right now.  I think I might find a book like this even more useful for setting up my own systems during my days at home.

This is a Mama Buzz review.  I was provided with a free copy of the book for this review.