There was not an actual warning in the beginning about the dangers of women reading it, like the one in Huckleberry Finn:

 

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

 

The authors Jeff and Shaunti Feldhahn write about some of the surprising things that emerged from their research. They interviewed, either in person or through a survey, over three thousand women. 

 

One of the seven principles they describe in this book is about good listening. The mantra they came up with is "You don't have to fix it. Just listen."

 

This goes against the grain for many men who spend the better part of their working lives fixing things. Plumbers clear clogged drains. CFO's solve financial troubles. Engineers address mechanical problems. People pay them for this.  

 

So to put their fixing reflex on pause while their wives soliloquize about their day requires Herculean strength. 

 

I remember one morning when I was feeling desperately overwhelmed by having twin babies. I ranted about the isolation, cried about the workload, and complained about the monotony. Without the slightest verbal acknowledgment, John got up from the table where I had poured out my soul, and went to work. I was devastated. How could he disregard my feelings of loneliness by leaving me, without so much as a hug?

 

I suppose if I were a clogged drain, it would have been a terrific solution. But I am a feeling woman, and would have much preferred for him to take me in his arms and croon, "It sounds like you are really overwhelmed. Two babies are hard work, and you are exhausted. Is that right?"