Marriage 101: AP Press release

February 27, 2009
For immediate release
Contact: Shelby Sledge at (512) 478-2028 x 227

Click to download press release

Washington—Prince Charming, a knight in shining armor and “happily ever after”: all popular dreams that many little girls hope will come true. As we watch the starlets from fairy-tale land being whisked away to their happy endings, we can’t help but wonder: Where are our happily ever afters?

Marriage coach Jewell R. Powell believed she married her Prince Charming. However, soon thereafter, she realized that marriage was not a fairy tale. But despite a shaky beginning, the Powells successfully worked together to resolve their problems and today celebrate a strong marriage. Their problems began almost immediately as they faced infertility and issues of faith, which eventually led to separate bedrooms. Jewell knew the next step was divorce, but she wasn’t about to give up on the hope of finding her own fairy-tale ending with Lewis.

With her new book, Marriage 101: Building a Life Together by Faith (Revell Books, February 2009, ISBN 978-0- 8007-3332-2, $13.99), Powell helps struggling couples find their “happily ever afters” and equips them with the tools necessary for their own fairy-tale stories.

In Marriage 101, Powell walks couples through an eight-part, in-depth game plan for building the frame-work of a lasting and loving marriage. The book includes chapter-end exercises designed to prompt reflection for individual or couples study. Reflection sections encourage readers to journal their thoughts to help each partner discover what the other needs, and how to get it from the relationship.

Using the parable of Sleeping Beauty to examine a healthy plan for marriage, Powell brings readers practical advice and simple ways to resuscitate their failing relationships. Whether dating, engaged or married, Powell hopes to awaken readers to the possibility of building a solid foundation for the growth of their relationship. Marriage 101 is a departure from typical marriage books, as it focuses on correcting an individual’s behavior before tackling the problems in their marriage.

“We all want the fairy-tale marriage, which is having a perfect man or woman without flaws and a perfect life without challenges,” Powell says. “That is not reality. Although neither of us is perfect, Lewis is the perfect person for me.”

Powell and her husband started the Happily Ever After Marriage Ministry to help couples overcome their marital difficulties. Using their 13 years of marriage experience, they urge married individuals to celebrate their differences and come together as one. They guide couples through practical and foundational principles, where they learn to work as one starting in the land of make believe, the name given to the place newlyweds begin, until they reach the promised land, where happy, enduring couples eventually end up as tried-and-true veterans of the marriage institution.

Powell currently resides with her two daughters and husband in Southern Maryland. She is a graduate of VCMI Ministerial Training School, and is pursuing a Master of Divinity at Regent University. To learn more about Jewell Powell and Marriage 101, please visit www.marriage101.us.

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To request a review copy or to set up an interview with Powell, please contact Shelby Sledge at (512) 478-2028 ext. 227 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .