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.

At 25 years, we were at rock bottom and I was willing to try anything. I started experimenting with the skills and saw an immediate shift. This book has been life changing. Now my husband and I are very happy. Moreso than we have been in many years. I am forever grateful! (I have to admit I came across the book years ago and had a negative visceral reaction to the book’s insinuation that I may have to do the work to change my marriage and so I moved on. I never read it. What a mistake that was but maybe I wasn’t ready.)

I gave this book a 4 stars because there are some good nuggets of information but the way they were presented left a bad taste in my mouth overall. Every chapter starts off devaluing marriage counseling and then stating how her 6 intimacy skills are better. Ironically enough, I actually had already learned almost everything mentioned in this book from attending marriage counseling. Minus her technique of never asking for things, just hinting or making known your desires for your husband to jump in to fulfill them. I think this should be presented later on after you have reestablish a good intimate connection. If you do not have that connection your man will not want to please you. This books doesn't mention DV type situations until much later on. Again that chapter along with the verbal abuse chapter left a bad taste in my mouth. If you are in a DV situation or there is verbal abuse the seductive submission promoted in this book is very dangerous. When an individual who wants more power and control is given it, the abuse escalates instead of making the relationship better. Speaking from experience. If you are married to someone who sees everything you do as wrong, an insult, disrespectful, not enough, even when you are giving it your A game, there is nothing more you can do then leave the relationship and hopefully find a partner who values you. But as the book states you need to see yourself as valuable and be taking care of yourself to be able to give what you are also wanting in a partner. If you do not have the funds to seek out marriage counseling or individual therapy then I would recommend this book. It can be a little hard to listen through the trad life examples and the constant sales pitch of her 6 intimacy skills and how woulderful they are but just get a notebook and jot down the good nuggets you take from it all! It's worth it.

OK so here's my story; husband asked for divorce about 3 months ago no kids. I moved out immediately. We went back and forth arguing over money and family issues. 2 days ago (after reading this book) I sent him a text that said "I would love to meet up and have lunch" (Expressing desires) He agreed. He asked about the time. I said I'm off so "whatever time you think is best" (Trust) We agreed on a time. He also said I could come early to hang out with the dog (He knows how much I love our dog and I haven't seen him in months so he was trying to make me happy). I agreed and said "Thank you. That really means a lot to me" (gratitude). We met up. I looked amazing. I came in the house smiling and laughing. I told him how I liked his hair (compliments, flirting). I went upstairs, he cornered me in the hallway, kissed me and it was a wrap. We had dinner, I let him pay (Receiving) and I listened to him the whole time with lots of "I hear you" and "uhuuhs" (Respect). He invited me to stay the night. We're not sure about the divorce but we definitely got closer in one day when I used just a few of the intimacy skills than we had been in the last 6 months. The only critique I have is that the book spoke more to women who are leaving their husbands and not much on women who have husbands initiating divorce (which is my case). I'm also a little worried about how to apply these skills when in separate housing without reaching out to meet up all the time. I'm hoping he now makes efforts to see me but of course, I'm just keeping my side of the street clean without expectations. I'm not sure if this will restore our marriage but we are both at a good place right now and a lot less stressed. The book is based on the idea that women have a lot of control in relationships than we think. I now know that I can only control my actions. If we don't work out I can feel good knowing I did everything I could to save our marriage. I will try and update the situation... Update 7/24/20: The closeness we experienced lasted for a month until I found evidence of infidelity which he denied. Either way, 2 years later we are no longer together. During that month, I continued to listen to him and express my needs lovingly but my ex was not up to meeting those needs in the end. He showed me that he was not a high-value man. I found out that he didn't love himself so he couldn't possibly love me. I think he came back in order to get his ego stroked and to enjoy my peaceful new presence as I worked to improve myself. In practice, I found it difficult to not be resentful when I expressed my needs with love and he still did not meet them. (perhaps Laura could expand on how to deal with that more. She only states to ask without expectations but what to do when he repeatedly doesn't come through?). It seemed that even asking for flowers was too much for him. Overall, l often felt like I wasn't valued and cherished and that he wasn't putting forth effort. Overall, the divorce Is finalized. I learned that I have to value myself as a woman and honor my desires. As a single woman, I am taking time to heal, avoid toxic relationships, and re-learn who I am with lots of self-care.

This book was a gift--and I didn't actually think I needed it because I already have a great marriage (and feel pretty empowered). Imagine my delight--and horror--to realize how much better it could be if I knew the Six Skills. Well, now I do! I'm so excited to see how good it can really be--and I'm giving copies to all of my friends, many of whom have pretty great marriages, too! It was not lost on me; however, that if the wife decides she wants to take from marriage from bad to good, end a divorce in progress, or avoid a divorce altogether, THIS is the book they need to read post-haste. This point isn't made until a few chapters in, so I'll say it here: you married him for a reason, at one point you thought he was the cat's meow, and you can get there again (and faster than you think). I wish I'd had this book years ago, and I'm sure glad I have it now. If you're reading this, the next thing you could do is buy and read this book. (You can thank me later--right after you send a handwritten thank you note to the author). Happy reading and wishing you a very, very happy marriage!

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! 😘

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! :)

This was an eye-opening read (confronting in parts) and helped me to look at my relationship with a different perspective. Laura showed me that it was well within my power to make a change and that nobody is responsible for my happiness but me. Within days of beginning to read this book and put into practice the skills she has outlined, I saw a significant change in my own attitude with massive flow-on effects in my relationship. I am so grateful to have found this absolute gem of a book! Great advice. Highly recommended.

There are about 5 of us who have been talking about this book because we have gotten so much from it! If your marriage is struggling..if you need help..if you don't know what to do this book could be of value to you in life changing ways. There is a group of us that are going to do a book club and make altered art books for note taking and quote writing because it's got excellent actionable principles. I highly recommend this book. I just purchased the workbook to go along with it.

Love it