The household is the center of daily life, where relationships thrive through shared work and leisure. Yet for decades, we have not lived as though this were true. The result: Widespread unhappiness, isolation, and meaninglessness.

Philosopher John Cuddeback invokes timeless wisdom to help breathe new life into our homes. Focusing on eight simple principles, The Intentional Household gives profound directions for crafting the shared life we naturally crave for ourselves and our loved ones. Our souls were made for a living community at every phase of life.

Building this community, however, takes time and focus. More and more people are discovering that good work and edifying leisure in the home are a key not only to healthy family, but a flourishing society. Cuddeback explains how and why. Utilizing great thinkers from all ages—from Plato and Aristotle, to Cato and Cicero, to Wendell Berry and Leonard Sax—he deftly reveals the inner workings of a vibrant home. With care and clarity, he grounds the practical cornerstones of shared life in the perennial principles of human nature and ethics.

Today’s household must be an intentional household, carefully crafted in view of what really matters: true happiness. We cannot do this alone.

“The Intentional Household cuts neatly through the cultural battle of the sexes. By drawing on ancient wisdom, Christian tradition, and his own lived experience, Cuddeback sketches a way forward for the restoration of culture, one home at a time, one person at a time.”
—Carrie Gress, PhD, Author, Theology of Home and Something Wicked

“This book has its finger on the pulse: Unrest arises when we wander from home. Dr. Cuddeback shows that the household is where we learn love and responsibility, work and leisure. He offers enduring principles for reclaiming home as the place where people come first and where we flourish as creatures.”   
—Gregory Pine, O.P., Author, Your Eucharistic Identity: A Sacramental Guide to the Fullness of Life

“A powerful and provocative book. John Cuddeback is a latter day Wendell Berry. He makes a convincing case that embracing an authentically domestic life—from home-cooked meals to Saturday morning family chores, from family games to caring for older parents—is the best path to living a good and happy life.”  
—Brad Wilcox, Author, Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization

“John Cuddeback has recovered for many men like me the idea of ‘household’. Our families deserve an attentive and intentional focus that will not happen by accident.  This book is unmatched in articulating how to do that today.”
—Jason Craig, Editor, Sword&Spade magazine; Author, Leaving Boyhood Behind

“The Intentional Household sheds light on how families today can approach work, leisure, technology, the Sabbath, and childrearing in a way that is much more spiritually life-giving—in a way that prepares family members to encounter God and each other more by truly living as if people matter.”
—Edward Sri, PhD, Author, The Art of Living: The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love