Amy Bonaccorso graciously answered all my “interesting” questions about her great new book I reviewed last week, How to Get to “I Do”: A Dating Guide for Catholic Women. I think you’ll find the interview a great read in itself. Thanks, Amy!
I’m also probably more convinced than I ever was that singles need the support of married people in their lives. While not every marriage is ideal, I have found that couples can usually provide valuable sanity checks in a crisis, like “No – the way that guy is treating you isn’t okay.” Or, “Chill out, this is not that bad…not every day is going to be like your first date.” I think it’s really important to encourage couples to help their si
Amy says
Excellent interview with Amy Bonaccorso, Nancy! I love Amy’s practical and realistic tone. This is one of my favorite parts regarding proper discernment of spouse: “Most Catholic writing suggests that finding a man who is super devout and prayerful will solve every relationship problem. This is simply not true. While women ideally wan…t to share their faith with their spouse, they need to look beyond their checklists and make sure who they are with has a good heart and will be there when times are tough. Unfortunately, just looking for someone who goes to Mass frequently doesn’t offer any guarantees on that front.”
Amy says
I also agree with Bonaccorso that the idea of “courtship” is outdated, and even using that language sets our young adults up for unrealistic expectations, and ultimately, at a disadvantage when discerning their spouse. Very good to hear, as I know Craig and I would be ELATED to have an old fashioned courtship for each of our four daughters, but it’s simply not realistic. **Craig will, however, insist on a vis-a-vis before any first date. In our experience, we see that it sets the tone for a healthy respect of the young woman’s purity… not to mention a good strong visual of an involved, perhaps intimidating, father… lest he TRY to disrespect her! LOL! Thanks so much, Nancy, for bringing this book to light.