Looking Beyond

Looking Beyond Publishing is pleased to announce the publication of their first book,

by Josh Mandrell, MD

“Dating, Finding, & Keeping ‘The One’:

Stuff Other Relationship Guides Won’t Tell You”

PUBLICATION DATE IS JANUARY 21, 2009

Order your copy HERE.

What is it like to be a teenager or young adult and watch your siblings and friends all get married while still wondering if you will ever find a mate? What is it like to worry if you have just contracted HIV and wait for the blood test results to tell you your fate? What is it like to struggle with lust, temptation, and pornography? What is it like to have your heartbroken by someone you have “fallen in love with” and think you will be with forever? The author of this book has experienced all of the above and brings an interesting perspective to these questions. As a doctor, he brings unusual but strikingly accurate and easy to understand medical analogies to illustrate relationship principles. As a youth minister and speaker at numerous youth camps and retreats, he understands that relationships are a common struggle for teens and young adults alike. As a child who has experienced the divorce of his parents, he understands what makes and breaks marriage relationships. He too has experienced the ups and downs, the thrills and disappointments, the temptations and guilt that dating can bring.

Very few places will you find an author who talks about breaking up as sometimes being a gift. Using the “baby tooth effect” illustration, the author describes breaking up with those who are not compatible with you as essential in order for permanent teeth to grow. Is there a good way versus a bad way to break up with someone?

Very few places will you find a relationship book that emphasizes singleness before a relationship as an essential part of process. Is there a right way and wrong way to be single? When should one take the big leap into the dating and courtship scene? This book describes ways to enjoy singleness and to prepare for dating and relationships when it is time.

Very few places will you find a book that emphasizes knowing what you are looking for and compiling that list of characteristics before even starting to look. In a humorous way, this book talks about the differences between guys and girls and how this affects the ways they relate to each other. Dating styles, physical attraction, and intimacy are all major themes within these pages. This book also talks about successful dating – avoiding going to fast, respecting boundaries, and loving rather than lusting while emphasizing the C’s of communication, compromise, and compatibility.

This isn’t just a religious book that curtails around the subject of sex. This book attacks it head-on. Physical intimacy and sex are described with illustrations about IRA accounts, socks, and baggage. With clear logic and evidence, this book encourages readers to flee from temptation. However, in a delicate and effective way, at the same time, this book encourages those who have already made mistakes in the sexual intimacy arena to hit “reset” and start again.