The Love Dare

Rent the movie first. Then you have a small amount invested. If you don't like the movie, don't worry about getting the book. The book expands the ideas discussed in the movie (which only really only presents about half the "dare") so if you like the ideas in the movie, then yes, the book is worth getting. I would also look into checking it out from your library (or maybe even your church.)
As for what does it suggest:
There are a lot of things that are easier said than done, and much easier done when things are not "on the brink." It is a Christian book, so there is nothing really "racey."
As for does it work:
Like all books on marriage, it depends on how much you put into it and what your mindset is going in. If you're thinking that you can change your spouse or do 40 days of "chores" and be set for the rest of your life, well, no... that probably won't work. However, if you look at it as a way of slowly changing YOUR way of thinking to make YOU a better spouse (and MAYBE influence your spouse to become one, too.) then you have a better chance of success.
Now for my personal experience, I did the dare while my husband was away in Iraq. I think it did change our marriage for the better. We were not "on the brink" but we were not really clicking, either. I did not expect that it would change him, because he did not (still does not) know anything about it. However, it made ME a happier wife and by extension, my hubby was happier and easier to live with. I think it was well worth the time I put into it.
Hope this helps.
:-)

I've seen the movie three times. Yes, the acting may not be the best, but it's a great movie. We saw it in the theater, watched it with our small group at church, and I watched it with the ladies in my moms group.

As for the book, my moms group meets once a month and we decided that as a challenge we would do the book. However, we not only applied it to our husbands, but to our children and one other person who is hard to love. We were planning to take it a few dares a month rather than daily because so many of us had started and not finished. Well, I started and have been stuck at day 11 for quite some time now. It's not because it's a bad book, but because I am having a hard time keeping it as a priority.

It can be difficult because it's not just do today's dare and you're done. You need to keep adding to what you're already doing. And you don't want it to feel like a check list, either. "Ok, I did that today, and that. Great, I'm done." Nope. Not the right approach. And I'm still working on completing it. I just really need to work on my discipline. I'm hoping that once school starts I will manage to make myself more disciplined and get it done. I really do want to make the changes in the book. It is so powerful.

Here are three of the early dares that I really like:
Day 5: Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.

Day 6: Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

Day 7: Get two sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. Then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

Good luck if you decide to do it. I want to share one last dare. I haven't gotten to this one yet, but it starts off with something that is very important to remember. I am putting that part all in caps:

Day 22: LOVE IS A CHOICE, NOT A FEELING. It is an initiated action, not a knee-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your spouse has lost most of their interest in receiving it. Say to them today in words similar to these, "I love you. Period. I choose to love you even if you don't love me in return."

This is weird. I just read 8kidsdad's statement to the mom who wants out of her marriage and thought the same thing. I need to get the movie and book. I have not tried it but was thinking the same thing as you, thank you for asking this. I have heard friends who have seen it in church and said it "was so good" "we really needed this" and so forth.

I would also recommend watching fireproof first although the acting is hideous the message is good. I am currently on day 7 of the book my husband and I are both doing this. He went out and bought the book after we watched it. Surprised me. We are far from the brink but we both thought all marriages can use strengthening. Nothing has been extremely hard I think parts of it I made it harder by thinking TOO much. The book doesnt "dare" too much just little things day by day like to take time out of your day to let your spouse know you were thinking of them. My biggest issue is patience and yelling. Im short to the fuse and im working on it. I haven't found anything that crazy yet but i do have to say that communciation has increased over the past week.

LOve love love the movie...you do not have to Buy the book, find it online for free here : http://www.klove.com/blog/post/2010/01/05/The-40-day-jour... they blog about it, so you have to go to each page, and I think there are one or two days where they have a random blog that is some other topic, but I used it that way until I was able to get a copy of the book. I HIGHLY recommend it.