The Truth... by Chad Eastham

The Truth About Dating, Love, and Just Being Friends is Chad Eastham's latest attempt to advise teenagers on matters of the heart. From Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson, The Truth... covers a multitude of teenagers' worries and concerns about dating and love. Chad approaches these topics with his usual humor (he's also the author of The Truth About Guys and Guys Like Girls Who...) while throwing in a few Christian references.

I read part of Guys Like Girls Who... several months ago just because I heard Chad Eastham was a funny, common sense type of guy. It was all right, but, like I said, I only read part of it. The Truth... looked interesting because of the long subtitle. (It is true that a book cover alone can sell a book.) I was mainly just curious to see what else Chad had to say.

Honestly, I was not impressed with The Truth.... I found it to be a book with good intentions but poor execution. Up front, Chad remarks that he sees no reason why anyone under sixteen needs to date. (I agree.) However, the whole tone of the book seems to be marketed to the under-sixteen crowd. The language used seems young and immature, and the overall content seems to be part of a here and now philosophy instead of a mindset headed towards the future -- which I feel misses a lot of what older teenagers (like myself) feel and face.

Besides that, I could barely handle Chad's back and forth speech as he zigged and zagged between common psychologist-speech and Christian thought. The overuse of terms such as "healthy" and "balanced," along with the continual references to teenagers' underdeveloped brains (we know already; stop making us feel stupid or lower because of it), made me feel as though I was being examined by a psychologist or brain surgeon. The Christian themes in the book are not bad; I agree with all of them. However, I could tell that Chad Eastham obviously wants Christian and non-Christian teens to read the book, so it seems that he tried to keep the Christian side of things at a minimum so as not to offend. I must admit . . . that really bothers me. Either stick with your beliefs or throw them aside, but don't give me a mixed message; but that's a topic for another post.

The Christian/secular-psychologist mixed message wasn't the only one. I couldn't believe it when I read several sentences throughout the book that said dating wasn't the smartest thing to do in high school, and that teens who don't date are actually happier. Uh, isn't this a book about dating? I wondered. This was the biggest bump in the road. Chad writes in the beginning of the book that dating is a natural part of the growing up experience and that it can help teenagers to grow in their understanding of all relationships, not just romantic ones. But then, every once in a while, Chad throws a stink bomb with sentences that lead readers to believe that dating isn't the best thing to do in high school. But this is a book for teenagers about dating!! Needless to say, the whole concept made my head hurt.

I won't say that everything in The Truth About Dating, Love, and Just Being Friends negatively affected me. I learned a few things in sections where he explained (as well as he could) the mental processes of guys and how girls should respond to them. That was at least helpful. But, overall, I was left saddened by a book that claims to be Christian while shoving secular philosophies down my throat. It is two-sided, and that's difficult to swallow.

I'm sure some teenagers will benefit from this book, especially the teens who reluctantly go to church with their parents and have a shallow view of Christianity. Otherwise, I'm not sure The Truth About Dating, Love, & Just Being Friends really lives up to its name.

I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing.
I was asked to give an honest review of this book.
All opinions of this book are my own.

Interested in some Christ-centered books about dating and love? Check out I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris, Emotional Purity by Heather Arnel Paulsen, Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot, and Sacred Singleness by Leslie Ludy. I've found these books to encourage Christian teens to form Christ-centered relationships with the opposite sex.