3-2-1 Liftoff: Our Catholic Marriage Advice Book Has Launched!

Years of work have culminated in this moment, and we couldn't be happier! Ave Maria Press just published The Four Keys to Everlasting Love, the Catholic marriage advice book that my husband Manuel Santos M.D. and I wrote, and our names are up in lights (metaphorically speaking) on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Thank you, thank you, thank you for following us on this journey and for being so supportive.

We didn't want this book to be just about communication or parenting or sexuality, and we certainly didn't want this book to be just about us, our six kids, and my husband's four brain tumors (although that's all in there!) We wanted The Four Keys to Everlasting Love to offer readers faith-filled advice on the most crucial issues facing families today. So we included a chapter on every one of the following twelve topics:

• personality differences,
• sacramentality,
• dealing with in-laws,
• work/life balance,
• finances,
• community service,
• sexuality,
• fertility,
• special family circumstances,
• parenting,
• prayer, and
• imitating the Holy Family.

And we organized everything around the four keys to everlasting love: faithfulness, freedom, fruitfulness, and a total gift of self.

Check out our awesome Table of Contents!

Chapter 1    Turning Two into One: How to Overcome the Differences That Divide You

Chapter 2    Turning Good Marriages into Pathways to Glory: It’s a Sacrament; It’s a Vocation; It’s a Road Map to Heaven!

Chapter 3    Turning Union into Communion: Extending Your Love to Your In-Laws and Beyond

Part II    CALLED TO BE FREE

Chapter 4    Turning Meaningless Drudgery into Meaningful Work: How to Prioritize God, Family, and Work

Chapter 5    Turning Ownership into Stewardship: Six Tips for Trouble-Free, God-Centered Finances

Chapter 6    Turning Inaction into Action: Families at the Service of Other Families

Part III    CALLED TO BE FRUITFUL

Chapter 7    Turning Spouses into Life-Giving Lovers: The Creative Power of Sex

Chapter 8    Turning the Fear of Fertility into a Total Gift of Self: Finding a Better Alternative to Artificial Birth Control and IVF

Chapter 9    Turning Challenges into Channels of Grace: Big Families, Special-Needs Kids, Adopting, Fostering, and Stepparenting

Part IV    CALLED TO LOVE TOTALLY AND FOREVER

Chapter 10    Turning Children into Adults: Forming Your Children’s Bodies, Minds, and Souls in Christ

Chapter 11    Turning Our Homes into Places of Prayer: The Eternal Consequences of Everyday Family Life

Chapter 12    Turning into a Happier, Holier Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Can Show You How

And check out our amazing endorsements (#grateful)!

"Practical yet spiritually rich."

--From the foreword by Christopher West, Author of Good News about Sex and Marriage

"An instant, classic, go-to resource."

 --Sarah Reinhard, Catholic author, speaker, and blogger

"Not to be missed!"

 --Lisa Mladinich, Author of the Be An Amazing Catechist series

"An invitation to heroic virtue."

--Stephanie Calis, Catholic blogger and author of Invited: The Ultimate Catholic Wedding Planner 

"Very appealing."

--Rev. Nicholas Zientarski, Dean of Students, St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie, Yonkers, New York