For four straight years the top-selling book in the United States was a Christian book. In two of those years it was The Living Bible; in another year it was Billy Graham’s Angels: God's Secret { 175} Agents. In the fourth year, it was a book written by a Miami housewife.
Today the shelves in Christian bookstores are filled with books on marriage, but in the early 1970s that wasn't true. Cecil Osborne's The Art of Understanding Your Mate and Tim LaHaye's How to Be Happy though Married were exceptions.
But Marabel Morgan wanted to do something for women by a woman and she had the right credentials. The wife of an attorney and the mother of two daughters, she had started a marriage enrichment program in south Florida called Total Woman.
It had become so successful that she needed several other instructors to help her teach the burgeoning program.
As the Miami Herald reported, "Word spread from one friend to another. Marabel became the Ann Landers of her set. Soon the women were gathering in groups to listen and learn. Among Lhe graduates are Anita Bryant and enough football wives to read like a Dolphins roster."
On the Phil Donahue TV show, Morgan's appearance received one of the most impressive responses the show ever had. The National Enquirer reviewed her plan and played it straight: "The Total Woman concept is a how-to course, not only meant for marriages in deep trouble but for women who have fine marriages and want to make them finer." The Sun Tattler commented: "The course concerns how not to ask for things, how to communicate when you are irritated, understanding the differences between men and women, and how each approaches a situation from an entirely different premise."
It was only because Marabel's own marriage was in the doldrums that she started to think and read and discover how to put the sizzle back into her married life. ״The results of applying certain principles to my marriage were so revolutionary that I had to pass them on in the four-lesson Total Woman course, and now in this book."
In a nutshell, the four lessons are (1) get organized, (2) accept and appreciate your husband, (3) work on your sex life, and (4) learn the secrets of good communication. She wrote: "This book is not intended to be the ultimate authority on marriage. Far from it. I don't pretend to have an automatic, ready-to-wear answer for every marriage problem. I do believe it is possible, however, for almost any wife to have her husband absolutely adore her in just a few weeks' time. She can revive romance, reestablish communication, break down barriers, and put sizzle back into her marriage. It really is up to her. She has the power."
When the mass-market edition of the book began to sell, sales shot into the millions. The book had its critics, and some said that it would appeal to women of the previous generation rather than to women of the 1970s, but that didn't seem to hinder its popularity. The book was also one of the earlier "crossover" books in Christian publishing, where sales are stronger in the secular market than in Christian bookstores. Although the religious aspect is not strong through most of the book, Morgan ends tip with a chapter called "Power Source," in which she shares her own personal testimony.
So Total Woman opened the door to more practical books on marriage, more crossover books, and more books by women that display disarming honesty, have touches of humor, and are intensely helpful.