I Kissed Dating Goodbye – my review

Question 1: Radical or not radical?

I guess every young people, whether you are a teen or a young adult, would love to pick up this book. But I’m not sure to what extend would they take the reading seriously. In my teenage years, I have heard of Joshua Harris and his radical (as some may put it) thoughts about relationships. Exactly how radical is his thoughts, you may ask. Do not go on a one-on-one date with the opposite sex even if the both of you are just friends – that’s just how “radical” it is. If your answer says that his thought is not radical, read on.

Question 2: Intimacy before commitment or Commitment before intimacy?

A friend once asked me a really weird question, which goes like this: “If a guy and a girl are good friends (both are not in a relationship – they are just friends), and one day they decided to tie the knot. Can the love story come after marriage? Is it possible?” After he asked the question, I was blown away by his thought. Therefore I responded him: “How can you marry a person without having a boyfriend – girlfriend relationship first?” The author has pointed out that the world’s concept of dating is just having fun, without any commitments. Hence, Josh is convinced that “dating tends to skip the friendship stage of a relationship and often mistakes a physical relationship for love”. So, I finally figured that my friend has got some point there. He sees friendship as a strong ground to marriage, not so much of the physical part. If you believe that commitment comes before intimacy, challenge yourself to read on!

Question 3: Singleness is a tragic or a gift?

After writing this book when he was 21, Joshua has kissed dating goodbye ~ sayonara ~! He thinks that dating has a lot of negative tendencies such as “isolating a couple from vital relationship and distracting their primary responsibility of preparing for the future.” Ultimately, Josh believes that “dating can cause discontentment with God’s gift of singleness – a season of our lives unmatched in its boundless opportunities for growth, learning, and service”. However, many see singleness as a tough state to be in – as if being in a room filled with the most delicious food and not being able to eat it. Joshua even challenged his readers with an example of a couple who shared their first kiss in the church altar on the day they were married. It is those tough standards that he encourages his readers to set at the early stage. Do you still see singleness as a tragic…or a gift?

Congratulations! You are now exposed to the three questions that this book plans to share and more…when you decide to pick up a copy of it! Now, you must be wondering if Joshua is still single after writing his book for nearly 13 years. The answer is he’s not! He’s married with three kids! And did you know after he wrote “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” he has then came out with a sequel to it, which entitled – “Boy Meets Girl”? In this book, he shares stories of his courtship with his wife, Shannon Harris. Will it be featured in my future review? Wait and see. =)

I Kissed Dating Goodbye – a preview

You either hate or love this book. Most people dwells in the grey area, where they hated it at first, and loved it at the end. Or it could be either way. I’ll tell you my take on it, but first, let’s hear what the author (Joshua Harris) has to say.

Coming up next, my review on “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”.

Giving Tree – the story

“Once, there was a tree… And she loved a little boy…”

-The end-

Written & illustrated by Shel Silverstein in 1964.

Giving Tree – an intro

The book which taught me to read:

Too green to attract the eye. Too touching to cause a tear. Too short to tell a beautiful story. Too significant to be considered neither a child’s or an adult’s book. Too good to be true.

(Too be continue…)