It's the Simple Show. You've got episode 44.

Hey, I'm Tish Hawson Rider, and on The Simple Show, we talk about books, travel, and life at home.

Now, even though I have three new co-hosts, every now and then, about once a month, I'll still have a special guest.

And that's what this episode is. So if you miss the older format of the show,

never fear, we're still going to keep them in the mix. I am talking with Catherine Pershey,

who's a pastor, writer, she's actually one of the regular contributors on the Art of Simple,

and a friend of mine. She just wrote a fantastic little book called Very Married, and it's on marriage, surprise.

But it is so not your typical marriage book. It's not even really a how-to-be-married sort of book.

It's a story. It's her story. I was happy to read and endorse it in advance, and even the

phenomenal Eugene Peterson had this to say about it.

If you read 10 pages of Very Married and then tell me that you set it aside, I won't believe you.

Try me. It's incredible. Now, that is a big deal endorsement that I love and one that I can stand behind.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Catherine on marriage, and I'll be back in the

end to fill in any gaps. Hey, Catherine. How are you? Great. That's good to be back. You

recently wrote a post on the Art of Simple that I absolutely loved. I mean, the title alone made me

laugh, the passive aggressive peanut butter. I read the part in the post that you

were referring to. I seriously was nodding my head in agreement slash laughing slash feeling

that like, oh my gosh, I remember exactly what she's talking about. Explain to me a little bit

your experience with that. Well, I got married very young. I mean, I thought at the time that I was a fully

grown adult, but it was my 22nd birthday that we got married. And now I just think, that is very young.

And so we had the experience of growing up together. And so all of our immaturities and we lived with a lot of indignation toward

one another, righteous indignation and just sort of an inability to meet the other person,

...