Dear Reader:

I wrote 'A Wife Is A Terrible Thing To Waste' for men like me - I am married to a contentious woman. What is a contentious woman? Well, a few thousand years ago, King Solomon described the life of her husband.

Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman. (Proverbs 21:9)

Better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman. (Proverbs 21:19)

A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. (Proverbs 27:15)

I remember reading those Proverbs when I was much younger, and I determined then that I would avoid a contentious bride at all costs. When I was dating my bride to be, I consciously assessed the risk that she would be contentious after we were married, and I concluded, with a high level of confidence, that the risk was exceedingly low. With that hurdle out of the way, we got married.

Soon after our honeymoon, I began to observe unmistakable signs of contentious behaviours, and their frequency increased with time. For the first 6 months, she was contentious approximately once each month, then twice each month, then weekly, then twice each week, then daily, and finally multiple times each day. Often, she would be contentious from the time that she opened her eyes in the morning until she closed them at night. Sometimes, she would awake in the middle of the night, wake me to quarrel about something or the other, and then go back to sleep (as incredible as that sounds, it is true).

Initially, I was amused at her outbursts. Then alarmed and concerned about the increasingly frequent complaints, criticisms and loud arguments. When their frequency reached daily, it began to drain my energy and motivation. I found that I could no longer do household or yard chores and had to hire others to do what I used to do. My every suggestion or idea would be ridiculed and I would be discouraged to the point of not even trying.

I read everything that I could find about improving my marriage and followed most recommendations. I also attended and participated in marriage counselling sessions with her, but nothing changed. The counsellors' methods assumed a more compliant wife, and did not address the issues faced by men with contentious wives. You have to be married to one to understand what we go through.

I began breaking emotionally under the load of continual contentious criticism and loud arguments, and I lost a considerable amount of weight. I visited my doctor who declared that my measurements were off of his Body-Mass Index chart. He did tests for a diverse range of diseases, all of which came back negative. I began to feel that I was hovering near the edge of my life, and began to put my house in order. Then, in a moment of clarity I saw a path out of my depressed state.

I followed the path to happiness and contentment with my angry and contentious wife, and can finally tick "happily married" on those marriage surveys. I am now wildly in love, and happily contented with my contentious wife, and she has responded by struggling to change her contentious nature - which I encourage. Admittedly, I struggled with accepting and implementing each step but my stubbornness only delayed my happiness.

If you are contemplating divorce, or have resigned to a lifetime sentence of marital unhappiness, then congratulations, the key to your deliverance is within your reach. Let me show you the way out of your apathetic disillusionment in 30 days - guaranteed. Every man who has followed the few simple steps has reported success within 10 days - which is why my publisher has agreed to provide the guarantee.

May you soon be Happily Contented,

Mr X.