Easy-to-read style; presents a lot of information and answers a lot of questions. Great artwork. Very age-appropriate and does not invade child's innocense.

Helps parents talk to their kids about were babies come from, birth defects, etc! A must for families!

After experiencing postpartum depression which followed the birth of her second child, Noreen was sent to a psychiatric clinic. When she learned she was pregnant again, her doctors feared for her mental health and advised her to abort her baby.

Noreen agreed and felt it was for the best. Later, she fully understood the permanence of her choice. This is a journey through her deep anguish and regret that began when she aborted her child.

Noreen has found healing though her beliefs and this book is recommended to any woman who has been emotionally scarred by abortion. It might also be a book you might give to someone who is considering this choice.

Other resources: The Choice CD-ROM by Chris Jackman

This is the autobiographical account of a woman's painful journey through the darkness of depression and the grief of rejecting her unborn child. It is only when she 'throws away her crutches' that she allows herself to find a deeper relationship with God. It is a tender and moving story told with a lightness of voice and a lack of self-pity that makes it a surprisingly easy book to read. It is a book that will appeal to so many people who are searching for meaning in their lives. It has particular resonance for anyone who has suffered an abortion, and for anyone who has suffered from depression. Finally, it is a tale of hope, reconciliation, forgiveness and peace. I recommend this book unreservedly.

Personal Disciplemaking is an excellent book if you are interested in mentoring new believers. He walks you through the process of identifying goals, lays out key areas for growth and has a great definition for baby, child, adolescent and adult. The author strikes a good balance between theory or process and the practical steps to take. I highly recommend this book.

This book clearly explains the imperative and the process of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Someone who's never invested their life in the life of another person can get a running start by reading this book and using the resources in it. I highly recommend it and often teach from it.

As a Catholic I once had my doubts about the Church's teaching on contraception. Later I came to oppose contraception for practical reasons and out of obedience. Then one day I stumbled accross WHY HUMANAE VITAE WAS RIGHT and once I started reading there was no putting it down. The beauty of this work is that it is a collection of writings from a variety of authors each with a unique perspective and each with his own unique style. So then, there is something for everyone. Whether the reader preferrs to hear personal experiences or wants to see it all in a syllogism, this book delivers. This is a must read for anyone who is feeling pressured to disregard the Church's teaching for it shows the wisdom, beauty, and bottom line common sense of the Church's stance.

...my husband decided to not use any method of artificial birth control. It was a struggle for both of us, but this book really put the moral law into perspective. Janet Smith does a wonderful (and very non-preachy job) of explaining what contraception does to a marriage. In particular, the "testimony" chapter in this book was a thump on the head as we read about couples whose marriages improved when they started embracing their fertility as a gift, not a disease. Janet Smith believes contraception makes couples fight each other, and forces a woman to become constantly infertile to accomadate the constant fertility of a man. Thats one of the best reasons given in the book for the use of Natural Family Planning, so that the man must acclimate himself to his WIFE'S cyclical fertility.

This book is a must read no matter what you believe about the Catholic position on artificial birth control. Get the facts.

I purchase this book ten copies at a time and give them away.
I recently expressed to one of the authors, William Emerson, that if I could, I would get a megaphone and announce it from the rooftops. Remembering Our Home is a most gently written, beautifully illustrated book that invites the reader to reflect on the earliest and most impressionable moments of being human--in the womb. If at first this strikes you as improbable to do, consider the countless life dreams and aspirations you, or people you know have had, and somehow, someway fulfillment seems to be just out of reach. Remembering Our Home can help build bridges across the gaps to fulfillment by revealing potential blocks, that can form in our first experiences of feeling physically and emotionally. Some examples of causes of these blocks discussed in the book are being born early, or late, toxins like niccotine or drugs, and parents in a stressful environment. Throughout the book there are suggested processes and tools for accessing our earliest potentials. I was born with a disability, and working with this, and the ample additional referals in the book is transforming the quality of my daily life. I am learning from it to benefit myself and all the babies and children in my world.

I was struggling deeply with this issue in a divided household. I found the different contributors had a wide variety of medical, pastorial and individual perspective that was well rounded from their individual biographical histories. The specific Bible scripture refences to look up and seek individal meaning and instruction were helpful and very thought provoking and caused soul searching. Sterilization is an area that is not widely spoken of in any church circles I have been in and this brought a subject out in the open in an easily readable format with discussion group format options at the end of each chapter for role playing or group discussion if desired. The Checklist for decision making at the end of the book was insightful, thorough and well rounded.

I began this book with a vague perspective of church feelings towards sterilization from my childhood and my conscience on the issue pulling me in one direction. This reaffirmed my initial conscience position and strengthened where these feeling came from with specific passages to allow me peace and strength of knowledge in my final position on the issue. I would HIGHLY suggest every pastor, priest, counselor, physician and other involved person keep this in their personal library for reference and guidance on this highly emotional issue.

Whether you are "for" or "against" sterilization, I felt both sides of the issue could be defendable and made with conviction and clear conscience by the reader.

This book is a must read for all those who are seriously committed to discovering their God-given talents and abilities. It's for anyone who is seeking to reach their destiny in life. "Its time to shake off those grave clothes and dream again." Let Al Hollingsworth (affectionately known as "Coach") coach you to success as he reveals and tackles the negative mindset and programming that many of us have fallen prey to in the past. The principles discussed in this book are tried and tested. They will work for you, if you are faithful to put them into practice. For example, the principle "Hope-To-A-Thing" is for real. Since reading the book and attending the Vertical Leap Seminar, I have found this principle to work in my life. I know that we were operating in this principle when we recently bought our first home after five years of searching and waiting. So stop the struggle and take the Leap from Facts to Faith to Action!

Randy Alcorn's book answered so many questions that I, even as a pro-life person didn't know the answers to. It equipped me to at least be able to defend what I believe in an intelligent way.For example I didn't know that abortion is legal at any stage of a pregnancy. I thought they would only do it in the first trimester. I liked the way the information was presented in a non-religious,non-denominational way.As a Christian I am saddened that most pro-choicers think all people opposed to abortion are religious fanatics. I'm not so sure I agreed with the part that birth control pills cause the death of a fertilized ovum. The "pill" suppresses ovulation thus,no egg,no conception. I was also surprised to learn that the pro-choice/abortion movement is a million dollar business! Of course they don't want to show the other side of the story to a pregnant women.

If you're at all interested in the debate between the culture of life and the culture of death, this is the book for you. It systematically outlines all the arguments that anti-life advocates raise in their rationalization for the murder of over one million children every year. It offers not just one pat answer to each objection, but several well thought, logical answers to each objection. Even if you consider yourself "pro-choice," you will at least benefit by understanding what the pro-life position really is, instead of swallowing caricatures of that position as painted by the larger social culture in general, and sadly informed individuals in particular, like two of the reviewers below.

Read PRO LIFE ANSWERS TO PRO CHOICE ARGUMENTS. It's a badly needed explication of the pro-life stance on abortion in this fallen world.

Hard to believe the original publication of this book could be improved on but Alcorn managed to make this updated version even better than the original, great volume.
Every argument one can imagine that is used to support abortion, (and now infanticide, ESCR and cloning) is presented and refuted in these pages.
I refer to this book so many times...a pile of post-it notes dangle from the pages.
Alcorn supplies exaustive references for everything he states in the book. There is no statement or statistic I have come across yet that's not backed by a sound reference to medical text, legal works, etc.etc. You never get the impression that this is a book of Alcorns opinions and you must take them on faith.
And speaking of faith, he hardly does. This aspect of the book appeals to me very much. I am an atheist, so religious arguments and bible quotations are not of much use to me, lest I am debating with a pro-abortion religious person.
I would have to say about 90-95% of Alcorn's book is religion-free....pure, life affirming, scientific fact about the humanity of the unborn child, the brutality of abortion, etc. Coupled with rights arguments, parental responsibility, etc. These arguments almost have a pro-life Libertarian feel to them.
And the 5-10% that is religous orientated is very well done and could easily provide a good base with which to debate relgious abortion supporters.

This is a thick, small-but-powerful book, easily portable and..thankfully, durable. You will be using it alot.

Would love to see an abortion supporter try to wiggle out of these arguments...it's impossible.

Bravo, Alcorn. You've done it again.

I wish that more Protestant leaders and couples would read this book and seriously examine the issue of contraception. When my husband and I were in our pre-marital class, we tried to address contraception and the abortive aspects of the Pill and our views were completely dismissed. I am so glad that a Protestant couple has finally written a book about this. Natural Family Planning is all to often pushed aside without any consideration. This issue was a small step in my beginning to look into Church history and eventually being received into the Catholic Church. The things I have learned about contraception and NFP are often dismissed because I am not taken seriously by my Protestant friends. I hope that this book greatly impacts the Protestant community and that Christians begin to seriously examine this important issue. The only reason I give this book 4 stars is that I wish it were longer. But it is an excellent introduction to the moral controversy that contraceptive use presents to Christians of all denominations.

In the book's introduction, University of Texas at Austin philosophy professor J. Budziszewski addresses the three goods of marriage: procreative, unitive, and sacramental. The error of our time, Budziszewski writes, has been trying to tear the three apart. "By saying 'yes' to union but 'no' to procreation, we still get a kind of union, but it goes bad; it ferments, turns sour, and begins to stink," writes Budziszewski.

With the problem thus stated, the purpose of the book then is to put the 3 back together. The authors do so both successfully and efficiently. Open Embrace, although small, is filled with great wisdom.

Catholics practicing Natural Family Planning will find nothing new here, but then that is not the book's intended audience. Rather, the Torodes have written a book for other couples like themselves - Protestant couples that were never taught to oppose contraception.

Like Kimberly Hahn, and others who have traveled the same road before them, Sam explains that he originally, incorrectly assumed that the Catholic Church's prohibition on contraception was a superstition, leftover from the Middle Ages. After a friend explained that the Church actually had reasons for its teaching, he decided to research the subject himself. The book is the result.

Beginning with what it means to be created in the image of God, the Torodes reason that our sexuality reflects God's likeness. It is from this "theology of the body" then, that the Torodes logically embrace a vision of married love and the one-flesh union which cannot be diminished or compromised through the action of contraception.

Their logic is clear, simple, and easy to follow. Desiring to conform their desires and actions to the natural rhythms of the woman's body, they lead the reader to Natural Family Planning. There, they encounter a profound, biblical perspective on the meaning of sex - namely, that love cannot be contained in just two bodies. Marital union reflects the Trinity.

A minor weakness of the book is that it makes no attempt to examine contraception from a moral standpoint. Rather than suggesting that contraception is evil or sinful, the Torodes are content to say that it is not "ideal." Again, one must remember their audience.

At one point, the authors quote Toni Weschler, who does not discourage couples from using condoms during their fertile time. Any Natural Family Planning instructor, however, can explain that in addition to the high failure rate of condoms, the use of condoms will negatively impact a couple's ability to recognize signs of fertility.

While they do not address the moral theology, the authors do present a convincing argument against the many defenses of contraception by Christian authors (Dobson, LaHaye, etc.) that say that contraception can be used for good or ill depending upon one's intention.

The book stands as a challenging critique to a culture where the contraceptive mentality treats fertility as a sickness and children as inconveniences. The Torodes lay to rest the long-held myth that all NFP is the Rhythm Method and also address the many marital and child-spacing benefits of modern, scientific NFP. Finally, they demonstrate how the contraceptive mentality leads to abortion-on-demand.

In the book's final section, Bethany writes a touching affirmation of what it means to be a mother. Her chapter, Be Not Afraid, reflecting both Scripture and the favorite words of Pope John Paul II, will warm the heart of any mother.

The book's great strength is that it wraps a very Catholic message with Protestant gift wrap. Many Protestants refuse to hear the Catholic perspective on contraception simply because it is the "Catholic perspective." The Torodes, however, quote from a variety of Catholics - Mother Teresa, various Popes, G.K. Chesterton, Fulton Sheen, and others. For example, in the book's second section, Sam provides a historical perspective on contraception. He effectively uses the early Church Fathers to demonstrate the Church's condemnation of contraception and abortion from its very beginnings.

I heartily recommend the book not only for Protestants, but also for the 95% of Catholics that ignore the Church's teaching on contraception. It would make a wonderful engagement or wedding gift for young couples.

The preface says: "the previous generation pioneered in forgetting the oldest things. Perhaps this generation will pioneer in remembering them."

If you are looking for an alternative to Birth Control in your Christian marriage, this is the primer for you: a first-person account by a husband and wife team, Sam & Bethany Torode, on the merits of Natural Family Planning (NFP) in their marriage and a short survey on the fall from grace of contemporary Evangelical leadership in the realm of sexual intimacy and attitudes towards the procreation of children. This is a very well and personably written marriage account with grounding in the historical and doctrinal position of the Church through the ages, transcending any particular denominational affiliation. An exhilirating, joyful marriage primer to be recommended for engaged couples, newlyweds, and a sobering side-hand indictment of popular attitudes inside the Evangelical community.

This young couple articulately reflects a growing conscience across Christian denominations on the physical dangers of the birth control pill and on the spiritual benefits of listening to the wisdom of Christians who have gone before us. A hard hitting book that is destined to help rally a coalescing movement in the Protestant Evangelical world . The writers write with a comfort level that comes from growing up in the Evangelical church, but also from first-hand experience in rubbing shoulders with other living and genuine believers in the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic community. "We are not alone!" is the refreshing rallying spirit of this marriage primer.

This book has a "rage de vivre" that is refreshing, unequivocally prolife, and completely in sync with other Christians who have embraced and experienced the notion that in Christian marriage can be found joy and contentment as God intended it to be. Instead of a gradual dissapearance into oblivion, the Christian life is meant to be one of perpetual and exciting growth, and in the area of sexuality and the procreation of children, the Torodes leave no room for exception. This is the antidote to your average pre-marriage counseling book. It will make you believe in love all over again.