That's good that he will read the pamphlet and consider it. I remember when I first saw the retrouvaille info, I thought they didn't say very much about what to expect in the pamphlet. You are correct, it is not counseling or therapy. It is other couples who have been through bad times together talking about their lives and how they solved their problems. No one asks you to speak about your life at all. You just talk to each other.
The weekend can give you good closure if you decide to separate, or it can be a turning point to rebuilding your marriage. Or I guess it could be nothing, and you come out the same as you go in. But we found it to be a wonderful experience that brought us back together, and opened our eyes to the good qualities in each other.
I think one of the most important things about the weekend is that it helps to see your marriage in a positive light. Instead of focusing on the negatives, you look at the positive. Simply that change in how you look at your spouse and your life is a tremendous help. Now I consciously make the effort to keep my focus on the positive. As a result, it's been almost a year since our Retrouvaille weekend, and we are still very happy together. We didn't lapse back into the old bad habits and hostility.
I hope your husband will agree to go. Making that first step to work cooperatively is really the most important thing.
