The Love Dare

Fireproof
By Eric Wilson

I've heard of screenplays based on novels, but this is the novelization of a screenplay by Alex and Stephen Kendrick. I had heard about this movie being shown in churches, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to see it. It stars Kirk Cameron.
The story came highly recommended as an encouragement for married couples to hang on through the tough times and work to improve their marriage.
It's about a firefighter who, at work, lives by the adage, "Never leave your partner," but at home, as he and his wife make plans to divorce, he does what he wants. Unfortunately, people assume that if you have problems in a marriage, (and who doesn't?) that you have only two options: stay in an intolerable situation, or leave. There is a third option; make it better.
His father challenges him to "the love dare" a forty day experiment.
The story was realistic, heart-breaking, funny and heart-warming at the same time. It made me cry a few times.
The idea of a marriage being fireproof is not that it won't experience fires, but that when the fires come, they'll be ready for them.
It doesn't just assume that a few gifts or romantic gestures will improve a marriage, but that big sacrifices and small kindnesses every day, with God at the centre of a marriage, are the true secrets to a happy and lasting marriage.