There are a plethora of marriage books out there. The classic Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller emphasizes that marriages need to be bonded by a covenant, or a promise to serve the other purpose. This goes against the “consumer” mentality of finding or dumping a mate depending on if they meet your needs. Laurie Pepper, widow of alto sax icon Art Pepper, chronicles her years with her famed, doomed and inspired husband, showing how a marriage can survive almost any trial, be it fame, prison, drugs or just two personalities living together trying to figure out “life.”
A successful photographer in her own right, Pepper goes through with insightful detail the lifestyle, hardships, counseling sessions and agonies that she went through with her tormented genius husband. Frustrating, agonizing, but ultimately inspiring, the book takes away many reasons people have for getting a divorce. As GK Chesterton once wrote, “I’m surprised when couples get divorced over ‘irreconcilable differences.’ Men and women by nature are naturally irreconcilable!” Pepper shows how she, and you, can overcome almost any difficulty in the covenant of marriage, and still retain your self respect.