Too Close Too Soon: Avoiding the Heartache of Premature Intimacy

This is an awesome tool for anyone considering a relationship with a member of the opposite sex! It allows the reader to think about "all" aspects of a relationship before jumping in.

I really cannot recommend this book enough, it is a great guide for dating relationships. It seems that too often when you examine your romantic relationships, you meet a person and start dating. However, there isn't a firm foundation of friendship to build that relationship on. This book actually gives you practical advice for building that friendship. I strongly recommend making three copies of the "Agreement for Genuine Friendship". One copy for the girl, one copy for the guy, and the pastor/spiritual advisor may with to keep one on file (if not, you can frame it or something). The Talley-Graph of how the two of you spend time together (alone, group, phone/internet) is another thing that I would suggest you make a copy of and use. The authors also take into account the ocassional mess up and how you can deal with that (limiting time alone together). Also, you have to be able to have an open dialog. If you can't talk about it, just limiting the time isn't going to help. Major biblical principles are clearly marked in the text, with the Scripture and where you can find it in the Bible. You don't have to flip someplace to see where the author is citing, nor do you have to flip though your Bible to see what verse the author is talking about, it's all right there. I definitely think that this book is well worth the money you spend on it!

This book is fantastic. My husband and I had both come out of a number of "too close" relationships before we met and we needed some guidance when we started dating. We each had our own copy of the book and followed it to the letter. It was extremely difficult, but it was the best thing we could have done for our relationship. It was because we followed the book to the letter that we are married and still together 8 years later. The book outlines a program that requires a lot of self-discipline which leads to a bonding between the couple. By following the guidelines in the book we were able to avoid too much physical contact and were able to really get to know one another mentally and emotionally.I highly recommend this to couples who are just beginning to date and want some help building a strong foundation on which to build their relationship.

I read this book when it came out in 1990 and I often refer back to it. It is one of my favorites. While the authors try to provide a time line for time spent together prior to marriage or while dating, many will find it impossible to follow. But the key isn't to follow the time line, but use the book as a guideline. That's the key. They hit the nail on the head when they carefully and cautiously warn men and women that too much time will get you into much trouble. The other helpful piece of wisdom in the book is the relationship growth patterns and differences between men and women. I appreciate these authors and thier fine contribution to my Christian library.

Jim Talley and Bobbie Reed offer a practical approach to developing healthy dating relationships that are built upon a solid foundation of friendship before moving into greater intimacy. They outline the process that a man usually follows in the stages of friendship, physical contact, emotional involvement, leading to sexual involvement in the marriage relationship. By showing the different process that a women follows, they show why couples need to spend the necessary time developing a healthy friendship prior to becoming physically (not sexually) involved or in the case of women, emotionally involved. The Christian authors identify concrete steps for a man and woman to follow to protect the development of the relationship--not allowing it to progress too rapidly, but building a foundation of truly knowing and caring for one another. Since intimate contact eventually leads to sexual contact, couples are encouraged to maintain a relationship that will allow them to remain pure until marriage. If the couple falls into a compromising situation, a process is provided so that the couple can maintain their relationship with appropriate boundaries.This book is a must read for all singles or those counseling singles of all ages.Another great book is Finding God's Will in Dating, Singleness, Sex and Marriage.