Book Review: Preparing to be a Help Meet by Debi Pearl

{A guest post by Hayden of The Story Girl}

Around the time I turned sixteen, my younger sister and I began receiving a lot of “girl” books- non-fiction books like So Much More by the Botkin sisters, Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham, and Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally. One of those books that I received was Preparing to be a Help Meet by Debi Pearl. Now, my mother had read some of Mrs. Pearl’s other books and didn’t always agree with the things in them (and sometimes the author doesn’t really say things in the most tactful, loving way) but I did really end up liking this particular book. It does have a few flaws (typos being a few of them!) but I did end up enjoying it, which is saying a lot since I regretfully admit I’m not big into non-fiction, unless it’s a history book.

Though I think Preparing to Be a Help Meet would qualify as a “purity” book, I think it’s more about preparing for the days when you do get married, rather than a book on just waiting. One of my favorite aspects was all the true snippets and stories from real people in real life. Some of them were women talking about how they had to learn to submit to their husband; other stories were about courtship and there were even a few from women with broken marriages who entreated the reader not to make the same mistakes.

I think perhaps my favorite part of the book was when it ran through the 3 main “types” of guys (and later types of girls), based on the attributes of our Lord- prophets, priests, and kings. Though I understand that people don’t perfectly fit into boxes and never will, it’s nice to get a broad understanding of how certain people tend to be wired. Sometimes I’ll think of guys I know- or even fictional characters and wonder…so…is this guy a prophet type, or a king type? I do it for girls too- are you a servant, dreamer, or go-to gal? (I’m definitely a dreamer ;)

So, overall, I really enjoyed this one and I’d probably give a 4 out of 5 stars :)

About Hayden:

A 19 year old lover of classic literature, living as a stay-at-home daughter with her parents and four younger siblings in the lovely American South. Hayden is an author, homeschool graduate, Sherlockian, Janeite, Whovian; she loves LOTR, Disney, Narnia, and The Avengers. But the title she prizes above all else? Christian. "Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light." You can find her online here at The Story Girl.