Upon hearing her husband speak pejoratively of another man's wife as "looking like a wife," attorney Donna Bunch Coaxum set off on a journey to discover what "looking like a wife" means, how it happens, and how to avoid the pitfall of becoming the sort of wife who could be described in this manner. DEAR WIVES, YOUR HUSBANDS WANT A GIRLFRIEND TOO is the result of Coaxum's study, a compilation of input garnered through interviews, surveys, and anonymous letters from men who were either married or divorced. She wanted to know if men felt a disparity between the woman they had proposed to and the wife she eventually became. If something had gone awry, what was it? Can marriages be saved and energized by a shift in perspective? Is there some key, within a woman's power, to continue infusing the long-term relationship with the vitality it had during the courtship phase? While her study started as an effort to find answers for herself, Coaxum was compelled to share her findings with other women. She discovered a formula she calls the "Market Ready Sister," a conscious and intentional recipe for women involved in, going into, coming out of, or looking for matrimony. She encourages women to think, not only of how to get it, but also how to keep it strong, and how to keep themselves "Market Ready" -- on top of their game. Married or not, the woman who develops the "girlfriend" mindset and tools has the benefit of knowing that, no matter her present relationship circumstance, she is up to the challenge of the M.R.S., a "Market Ready Sister" or "Market Ready Soul mate."
About the Author: Having practiced law for over twenty years, Donna Bunch Coaxum is accustomed to studying the words and inflections of others when performing her legal work. She did not anticipate, though, that those skills would also be a tremendous informer in her personal life. Coaxum heard game-changing urgency when her husband of seventeen years made a simple comment that stopped her in her tracks. She detected an imperative in his few poignant words that could make all the difference in marriages, her own included. When Coaxum heard her husband refer to another man's wife as, "looking like a wife," she reeled at the decidedly resigned tone of that description. "Looking like a wife," she gasped! That single phrase served as the spark that led Coaxum on a quest to discover whether husbands, in general, determined there to be such an unflattering difference between a wife and a girlfriend, and, if so, whether the wife could be the girlfriend, too. Coaxum earned her Bachelors Degree in Management/Accounting from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, and obtained her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation in the State of Illinois. Her law degree is from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wisconsin; she is licensed to practice law in Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania. Coaxum is currently the Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary for a global food manufacturer. She is also a mother and wife, who constantly seeks to cultivate her "girlfriend" qualities. She enjoys motivational speaking, community service, and conquering challenges that she may once have thought impossible, like running marathons. Coaxum does not write books for the simple pleasure of it; her goal is to discover, explore, and solve -- to examine and confront issues that bear resolution. Her ultimate goal is to suggest mindsets and motivations that can help us all in the journey to a better quality of life. Coaxum's book, Dear Wives, Your Husbands Want A Girlfriend Too began as an investigation meant to discover answers for herself, and for her own marriage. Her adventure led her to discoveries that she is happy to share with other women - wives who can be girlfriends, too.