Recommendations based on "Families and how to Survive Them"

"A fresh look at infidelity, broadening the focus from the havoc it wreaks within a committed relationship to consider also why people do it, what it means to them, and why breaking up is the expected response to duplicity — but not necessarily the wisest one.” — LA Review of Books From iconic couples’ therapist and bestselling author of Mating in Captivity comes a provocative and controversial look at infidelity with practical, honest, and empathetic advice for how to move beyond it. An affair: it can rob a couple of their relationship, their happiness, their very identity. And yet, this extremely common human experience is so poorly understood. What are we to make of this time-honored taboo—universally forbidden yet universally practiced? Why do people cheat—even those in happy marriages? Why does an affair hurt so much? When we say infidelity, what exactly do we mean? Do our romantic expectations of marriage set us up for betrayal? Is there such a thing as an affair-proof marriage? Is it possible to love more than one person at once? Can an affair ever help a marriage? Perel weaves real-life case stories with incisive psychological and cultural analysis in this fast-paced and compelling book. For the past ten years, Perel has traveled the globe and worked with hundreds of couples who have grappled with infidelity. Betrayal hurts, she writes, but it can be healed. An affair can even be the doorway to a new marriage—with the same person. With the right approach, couples can grow and learn from these tumultuous experiences, together or apart. Affairs, she argues, have a lot to teach us about modern relationships—what we expect, what we think we want, and what we feel entitled to. They offer a unique window into our personal and cultural attitudes about love, lust, and commitment. Through examining illicit love from multiple angles, Perel invites readers into an honest, enlightened, and entertaining exploration of modern marriage in its many variations. Fiercely intelligent, The State of Affairs provides a daring framework for understanding the intricacies of love and desire. As Perel observes, “Love is messy; infidelity more so. But it is also a window, like no other, into the crevices of the human heart.”

One of the world’s most respected voices on erotic intelligence, Esther Perel offers a bold, provocative new take on intimacy and sex. Mating in Captivity invites us to explore the paradoxical union of domesticity and sexual desire, and explains what it takes to bring lust home.Drawing on more than twenty years of experience as a couples therapist, Perel examines the complexities of sustaining desire. Through case studies and lively discussion, Perel demonstrates how more exciting, playful, and even poetic sex is possible in long-term relationships. Wise, witty, and as revelatory as it is straightforward, Mating in Captivity is a sensational book that will transform the way you live and love.

Billions of people have had sex. Far fewer have made love. In the Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex, author Sheila Wray Gregoire helps women see how sexual intimacy was designed to be physically stupendous but also incredibly intimate.Whether you're about to walk down the aisle or you've been married for decades, The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex will lead you on a wonderful journey of discovery towards the amazing sex life God designed you for.With humor, research, and lots of anecdotes, author Sheila Wray Gregoire helps women see how our culture's version of sex, which concentrates on the physical above all else, makes sex shallow. God, on the other hand, intended sex to unite us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Gregoire walks through these three aspects of sex, showing how to make each amazing, and how to overcome the roadblocks in each area we often encounter.Drawing on survey results from over 2,000 people, she also includes lots of voices from other Good Girls, giving insight into how other women have learned to truly enjoy sex in marriage.

The authors outline a step-by-step process designed to help readers negotiate the most difficult conversations imaginable, from negotiating with a tricky client to telling someone "I love you." Reprint.

World-renowned relationships experts, Dr John Gottman and Dr Julie Schwartz Gottman, bring decades of their ground-breaking research on the science of love to the urgent and timely topic of conflict. Conflict is the number one reason that couples seek help and resources. Fight Right will teach you how to avoid the five critical mistakes that couples often make during conflict, and instead, teach you how to 'fight right' and use conflict as an opportunity for greater intimacy, deeper connection, and lasting love. Using decades of research, compelling case studies and a new international study, the Gottmans prove that even couples who are truly struggling in conflict and have really lost their way are able to recover and find their way back to each other. For those couples in crisis, or those who want to change their relationship dynamic, Fight Right is the go-to guide to understanding how to fight better, offering urgent and perennial lessons for healthy conflict. 'Couples today really need clear, compassionate, and science-based guidance in this arena, and as the world's leading love experts, the Gottmans are the trusted voice to guide them' Jay Shetty, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Think Like a Monk

Why are women's friendships so deep yet so fragile? Friendship coach and educator Danielle Bayard Jackson unpacks the latest research about women's cooperation and communication, while sharing practical strategies to preserve and strengthen these relationships. Fighting for Our Friendships is one part textbook, one part handbook. Readers will not only learn what the latest research has to say about the mechanics of women's friendships, but they'll walk away with real-life solutions for the most common conflicts that arise in their platonic relationships.   Using a combination of psychology, science, narrative, and a few of the author's signature scripts and out-of-the-box exercises, readers will learn: The three "affinities" that bring women together (and tear them apart) Scripts to navigate nine of the most challenging "friend types" (and how to know which one you are) The covert strategies women use to hurt each other (and how to avoid them) How to have a hard conversation with a friend (without losing the friendship) Surprising ways that women's people-pleasing delays platonic intimacy (and how to stop it) How to know if a friendship is worth saving (and what to do to recover) How to make (and deepen!)  connections with other women   In a time when we are often encouraged to opt out of friendships at any sign of friction, Danielle Bayard Jackson is showing us how to opt in.  

Two therapists analyze their own relationship to help untangle the common and frustrating barriers many individuals face on the road to a happy, loving, rewarding partnership. Many of the clients who end up in our respective therapist offices thought they were doing relationships right—avoiding the white picket fence, focusing on careers and experiences over babies and legally-binding documents, choosing someone after they “found themselves” first. However, like clockwork, around their early to mid-thirties, these clients show up at our door. Why? For the first time, they realize that they dislike their relationship and are frustrated by their partner but know that another break-up won’t fix things. They recognize a pattern of relationship misery that has them finally looking in the mirror asking, how do you make a relationship last? It took us many relationships, our own inner self journey (which we’re still on), therapy, therapy school, and helping thousands of people with their relationships, to learn to have better ones ourselves. Vanessa woke up at 31, after ending an engagement and moving to Los Angeles. John thought he woke up at 35 after his divorce. But he didn’t truly wake up until he was pushing 40.  In It’s Not Me, It’s You, John and Vanessa dissect their own relationship to help readers figure out theirs: what their relationships were like in the past, what traumas they carried into the new relationship, and how they work on growing together to foster a healthy and long-term bond. The surprising truth is falling in love is more about you than your partner. It’s more about challenge and growth than comfort and ease, and roots don’t grow from wishful thinking—they grow in the soil of communication, curiosity, patience, and understanding. It’s Not Me, It’s You is for anyone looking for real advice on relationships that takes both sides into account and discusses relationships with the honesty and clarity we all need.

A master astrologer provides fundamental and practical insight on the power of love in this world-famous and sensational-selling (more than 800,000 copies sold) guide.Can a Gemini man find happiness with a Virgo woman? Will it be smooth sailing or perpetual fireworks for the Scorpio female and the Libra male? Linda Goodman's Love Signs offers compelling insight and advice for every zodiac sign --and the compatibility of each with all eleven others. Lively, entertaining, and informative, this book will help you better understand your mate and your relationship.From your finances to your lover's secret hopes, from your guirky habits to what you'll fight about, from avoiding war to making peace, this book will tell you what to expect and what to look out for. Whether you're embarking on a first date or are seriously involved, Linda Goodman's Love Signs will help you open up the lines of communication and unlock the power of your relationship.

Join the millions who have learned how to take control of their lives by setting healthy boundaries with their spouses, children, friends, parents, co-workers, and even themselves--in order to live life to the fullest. Do you feel like your life has spiraled out of control Have you focused so much on being loving and unselfish that you've forgotten your own limits Do you find yourself taking responsibility for other people's feelings and problems In Boundaries, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend share the lessons they've learned in their years of practicing psychology and studying the patterns and practices that support clear biblical boundaries. You'll learn the ins and outs of setting the boundaries that will transform your daily life. This updated and expanded edition of Boundaries, answers the most common questions on the science behind establishing boundaries: Can I set limits and still be a loving person What are legitimate boundaries How do I effectively manage my digital life so that it doesn't control me What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries Discover the countless ways that Boundaries can change your life for the better today!

You might already consider yourself a stellar conversationalist, but could you be even better? This book will help enrich your life, one conversation at a time. 'Reading TALK is like having a conversation with the world's best conversationalist' Angela Duckworth _________ Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and decision-making - but the science behind our everyday interactions, and how to improve them, is little known. In Talk, Harvard Professor Alison Wood Brooks provides fascinating insights into the power of effective communication. She gives you the tools that her MBA students say transform their lives, bringing together psychology, linguistics, sociology and neuroscience in her original framework: T - Topics - including the surprising impact of preparing topics before a conversation A - Asking - why we need to do more (and why we do less than we think) L - Levity - how to find the fun in conversations with anyone K - Kindness - how to be a better listener and not simply pretend to be one! Through her own original research, Brooks shows readers how small changes in how we communicate can make a big difference to our relationships, our careers and our lives.