Dating is fun and exciting. You're getting to know each other, but are ever conscious of how you're presenting yourself and often try to put the best foot forward. You accentuate the positive and omit or downplay the negative.

Engagement is fun and exciting. The “getting to know you” phase morphs into the planning and organizing phase of the relationship. Your focus shifts towards putting your wedding together and preparing for beginning your life together as one.

Marriage is real. It's a lasting commitment that will see you through the good, bad and everything in between. And, along the way, you're astonished to find that you're still getting to know each other. The hidden feelings and truths that didn't find their way into the courtship part of your relationship come out little by little and you might find yourself wondering just how well you actually know your spouse.

Monica Mendez Leahy's book, 1001 Questions to Ask Before You Get Married, is written to keep those “Who are you?” moments to a minimum by exploring important questions together before the big day. It presents over a thousand questions with topics that range from your family life and past relationships to finances and having children.

As a relationship expert featured on Lifetime Television and in such publications as the Wall Street Journal and Ladies' Home Journal, Leahy knows that sometimes couples don't know when or how to ask the truly important questions that really need to be answered before saying “I do.” Having a book to set ground rules for discussion and present the questions as an unbiased third party makes not only makes these conversations easier to have, but presents questions, thoughts and ideas that the couple might not have even thought to ask.

1001 Questions opens a great number of doors to conversations that betrothed couples should really explore before they get married. Openness and honesty are hallmarks of a successful marriage and should begin well before exchanging vows.