The Empowered Wife, Updated and Expanded Edition: Six Surprising Secrets for Attracting Your Husband's Time, Attention, and Affection

You have the power to improve your marriage in as little as two days or as long as two weeks. The advice in this book worked for me in two days and I was amazed at how magical the process was. This is a book of secrets for married bliss. Laura Doyle is an author who has been given credit for saving a lot of marriages. Her goal is to empower women so they can vanquish the awful threat of divorce which can lead to emotional anguish, poverty and loneliness. In Laura Doyle's own marriage she had reached a stage in her marriage where she was lonely, there was no laughter and long intimate discussions. What to do? This was the stage at which the six intimacy skills were born. Laura Doyle decided to ask other married women what their secret was. When she tried the ideas she had more fun and stopped wasting her time on emotional turmoil. Some of the ideas in this book are very easy to implement immediately. You will be amazed at what you hear your husband say and I found that my husband was asking for me to do the things this book told me to do. I tried one idea immediately and it worked beyond all belief! So I kept reading. The truth is what Laura Doyle teaches is things that make you seem like the ideal wife and make you highly likeable. By giving your husband compliments and telling him what makes you happy you open up an entire new world of possibilities. Men really do want to make you happy! So by the time I'd read the second chapter I'd already tried out one main idea and it worked. I learned a new valuable skill that I can use daily. And who wouldn't like a book with a chapter title like this: "How to Get More Gifts, Compliments and Help". Some of the things this book teaches include: What can you do to make your husband become more thoughtful? How can you be more feminine and attractive to your husband? What makes men want to earn more income and be more ambitious? How can you show respect to a man in a way he understands? What can you do to stop the verbal abuse in your marriage? So instead of complaining to your friends and family that your husband is not changing and you are looking at divorce options, read this book and become the agent of change that will save your marriage. I've read over 120 books on marriage and relationships and this book taught me the most interesting and powerful things I could do in a matter of days. One thing I learned during reading this book was to trust my husband more. But it was difficult when we were driving and I noticed the gas was on empty. I held in my comment about getting gas until I nearly exploded. lol Finally I pointed at the next gas station and loudly declared: "Gas Station!" Of course my husband instantly said: "Don't you trust me?" So it is somewhat challenging to keep quiet when you are full of ideas for improvement and help. So instantly I said: "I'd be happier if the gas tank was full." This got a positive comment back instead of an argument. So if you are in the mode of criticizing, nagging, complaining and trying to control your husband, this book has a lot to teach you about trust, intimacy and loving interactions. Your communication will improve as you will now know what to say and how to say it. This book gives a basic script for dealing with men in general. To implement the ideas in this book will require some effort and thought, especially if you are already frustrated and have been pushed to your breaking point. But you actually have had the power to have the relationship you want all this time! Read this book, start saying the right things and I can promise you, you will see a change in a matter of days. Suddenly your husband will become the person you married in the first place! I loved this book so much that I'm going to read it a second time and try more ideas. We women really do have all the power and just have to learn how to use that power for good! ~The Rebecca Review P.S. It has been a few weeks since I started to use this information seriously and it has reduced arguments to a bare minimum. Some days there is not even a disagreement. Like magic I tell you! I'm going to read this for a third time!

I've always thought of myself as one of the lucky ones. I actually like my husband. We enjoy being around each other. So, you might be surprised that I bought this book. I sure was. It practically fell into my lap. Before suggesting it to my friend in need, I thought I'd give a listen to The Empowered Wife podcast to see if it was something I could happily recommend. The interviews blew my mind! I bought the book to learn more. The six skills are straight-forward, logical and work miracles. They remind me a lot of Al-Anon principles in that the reader is guided to focus on her side of the street. I bought the book. Easy to read. The author has a very likeable writing voice. Some of the explanations on how husbands perceive wives' actions were eye-opening. Just for fun and because I love to learn, I decided to experiment with the six skills in my marriage. It's been four days since getting the book and I am astounded by the changes in our marriage. IN FOUR DAYS! Imagine what gems await us as I finish reading the book and implementing its ideas. My husband is paying more attention to me. He's apologizing with ease. He's thanking me for the things I do. I am more compassionate, more relaxed and having way more fun. It's absolutely amazing that this book can even help a marriage with a strong foundation. FYI, I'm a modern woman. I have been married for 21 years. I think this book is great for all types of people. Hippy chicks. Strong women. Trad wives. There's a place for all of us here.

The empowered wife is a very useful guide when re learning how to navigate your marriage or any relationship in general. I had listened to this book as an audiobook and decided to purchase a physical copy to go back and read, highlight and take notes. Some of the ideas are a little archaic if you ask me, but a lot of them are very useful. Highly recommend. You can use this in all types of relationships, not just romantic.

This book is pretty helpful if you apply the skills. I have been having success. It’s not as quick of a fix as I would prefer, but it has given me wonderful insight into what I am doing that contributes to issues in my marriage. The more I focus on ME and what I can do, the better we all are . It’s definitely in the vein of codependent no more, or other codependent books, BUT the author puts the concepts in easy to read and easy to identify with terms for a fun way to approach the whole thing. I saw reviews addressing the little “a marriage counselor might say” things at the beginning of the chapters…they’re kinda cheesy and like, “well, I’m sure there are a lot of great counselors out there and they are very helpful for some, let’s not knock them” …it’s not the point. They point out typical ways of thinking or approaches in American culture to address relationship issues, making it easy to see the contrast of what she recommends instead. I like that she gives specific catch fraises to say in specific scenarios to begin with. I love the idea of my husband wanting to please me and getting clear about how he can, as well as taking better care of myself! Who knew I could fix my marriage by focusing on my self more! Easy read. Easy approaches. Absolutely better than sitting at my therapists week after week complaining about my husband and not doing anything to fix it. I’ve bought this for several friends now and am on here to look for other language options for another. Hang in there and start taking care of YOU! 😘

This book was recommended by my highly respected mentor, strong Christian lady who’s been married near 70 years and travels encouraging wives and mothers in Christ. While it doesn’t mention Scripture or God, she said it’s possibly the best book on marriage that she has read. So far, I’m resonating deeply and enjoying the quick and simple way it’s written. My one concern is this: sometimes these type books can paint a picture of “it all depends on the wife”, or even as one chapter is titled “most divorces are caused by women”…. I feel this would be a concern for women who are performance oriented and prone to taking the responsibility for everyone’s actions and responses on top of their own. It could put them in a placed if heaviness and decension if not read with caution, and taken as a whole the message: I am powerful. I can use these skills to make my marriage great. But to ever think that one spouse can bear the whole of responsibility and be the super hero wouldn’t be realistic. Although I will say as a Christian, I believe all things are absolutely possible with God! And with Christ fueling either spouse who’s aiming to operate in their design, using skills to enrich the marriage… good on you!! Go for it!! Take the initiative & believe for a marriage made in Heaven! All in all, I appreciate and agree with the gist of the book, with these two points of advice for the reader: 1. Be cautious about thinking you are responsible and/or can save or destroy any relationship all by yourself. 2. Marriage counseling isn’t always a bad idea.

- Three years ago I found Laura’s program. If there were one word I would have used to describe how I experienced my relationship at that point it would be this: Helpless. I couldn’t make my husband see what needed to change for our marriage to improve and us to live happily together. I would have told you that I had “tried everything!” And what I meant by that is: I tried every combination of words in the English Language to communicate my dissatisfaction and present the obvious solutions of what he ‘just needed to do’ to provide me with my dream marriage. Interestingly, I do recall a few times when he did in fact come through in one area or another, but there was always some other piece of the puzzle that hadn’t been ‘checked off the list’ in order for me to be happy. Maybe he gave me attention, but didn’t help clean; maybe he spent time with the kids, but didn’t finish the project I wanted him to do. I just didn’t have the power to make the changes that I wanted to see in my family, and it affected literally every part of my life. We even worked together so it deeply affected our employment, in addition to our family and home life. - Finally, I stumbled upon Laura’s books first, and then her community. I devoured them. More than anything, for the first time, I felt hope. I realized there was something that I could do. I felt truly empowered. My husband and I have experienced a lot of challenges and life changes since then, but we’ve walked through them together. I still get into a funk sometimes, but when I do, I am empowered to take a step back and know that things will get better, recognize the part that I play, and take the steps to get back on track. I have since started my own bookkeeping practice that my husband helps me with. I use the skills I learned from Laura’s work in my business, in my romance, and in my other relationships as well. - I am so grateful for the life altering wisdom Laura has shared with the world, and how it has launched me into a beautiful new phase of life.

The Empowered Wife and the practice of the skills for intimacy taught in it, have been just what I needed to change how I was showing up in my marriage and in a way that has made my marriage what I really wanted all along, peaceful, passionate and full of purpose. As a Christian wife I have found the skills to align with my core values and a framework to apply the ways of being that I feel honor God and my marriage the most purely. If you are a Christian reader wondering if this “non-religious” book is for you, my experience has been that God’s eternal truths are accessible to everyone and they are embedded here in Laura Doyle’s work in a beautiful and powerful way. I read everything with a discerning eye and hope you do to. My experience has been that Christ empowers me in all ways to be transformed by His eternal truths. He’s given me everything for life and godliness and this book came at just the right time to open my eyes to some blind spots I had that were eroding the intimacy in my marriage. I pray that this book and the practice of the intimacy skills speaks to you like it did to me.

The concept of this book is beautiful and idealistic; specifically, it is meant to empower the wife to improve the marriage without begging the husband to change his ways or dragging him to therapy. Laura Doyle (LD) illustrates how to do this: specifically, making yourself happy via self-care, honoring your boundaries, and most of all, treating your husband with respect. Now here is where the program is flawed. There is a lot of emphasis on respect and letting go of control. But what's a body to do if she already treats her man with all the respect in the world and isn't a control freak? What does one do if the husband is really the disrespectful and controlling one? LD provides the answer: apologize for any past disrespects. Huh? LD also spends a good amount of time hating on therapy. Apparently she didn't get the memo that therapy is only as good as the therapist, their particular modality, and the couple who either do the work or don't. According to LD, all therapy involves couples fighting in front of the therapist instead of alone at home, and then since nothing has been resolved they continue fighting at home. I guess she never heard of the Gottmans or any other skill-based therapists who train couples on how to manage conflict, communication skills etc. Another flaw which has been mentioned by other reviewers is that LD doesn't have kids, so she can't possibly know that this changes the entire dynamic of a relationship in ways that I can't really explain, but if you know you know. I will bring up just one issue: she says that when your husband says something hurtful, you just say "ouch". This is meant to hold up a mirror and let him know that he has hurt you, without being disrespectful or hurting back. However, she also says that if he says something in a hurtful way that may be expressing a need or a desire, you need to figure out what he's trying to tell you (his heart message), kind of like the parenting books tell you to do with your 6 year old. Now this is OK if it's just the 2 of you, but if you have kids, your sons are going to learn that it's perfectly OK to be abrasive with their wives and the wives will just respond sweetly and see what they need... maybe their future wives aren't going to go for that? And your daughters are going to learn that they can be addressed that way and they just need to figure out their men's heart messages. Now, I am not trashing this book, just giving my honest assessment and experience (guess whether it worked for me or not). And yes I had a coach and a support group. Many of the women in the support group have had wonderful success, and power to them. But they had a lot of control and disrespect to give up on, and once they gave up the control and disrespect, the magic happened for them. And those of us who are not controlling or disrespectful? Out of luck. As the saying goes, when the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem has to be a nail. But those of us who don't fit the formula are out in the cold.

I read surrendered wife and this one and they really make you see things another way than the main stream does and its so refreshing

Great read, I do disagree with how some pointers were presented but overall it did make a difference in my perspective for the better! :)

Love it

A must read for every struggling wife! turn conflict, resentment and non belief in your husband into the most amazing marriage. And... It's so simple to do. She has just 6 simple steps in this book. If you follow all these steps you will be the happiest wife you every know. You will no longer be contemplating or dreaming of divorce and you will be constantly in awe of your husband. The things you always hated about him and all his in capabilities and annoying selfish habits and behaviors melt away and you are left with the most beautiful husband. If you think it sounds to good to be true than you have to try it for yourself (Disclaimer: I personally signed up to her course with this book so i fast tracked my success and transformed my marriage within just 4 short months but you can do it with just the book if you prefer but it may take longer and it may not be as effective) Good luck on your journey of happiness and contentment love and adornment.

Amazing book! I keep buying them to give away to friends.