Recommendations based on "Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married"

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEREnd the struggle, speak up for what you need, and experience the freedom of being truly yourself.Healthy boundaries. We all know we should have them in order to achieve work/life balance, cope with toxic people, and enjoy rewarding relationships with partners, friends, and family. But what do "healthy boundaries" really mean - and how can we successfully express our needs, say "no," and be assertive without offending others?Licensed counselor, sought-after relationship expert, and one of the most influential therapists on Instagram Nedra Glover Tawwab demystifies this complex topic for today's world. In a relatable and inclusive tone, Set Boundaries, Find Peace presents simple-yet-powerful ways to establish healthy boundaries in all aspects of life. Rooted in the latest research and best practices used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), these techniques help us identify and express our needs clearly and without apology - and unravel a root problem behind codependency, power struggles, anxiety, depression, burnout, and more.

When you love someone, how does it feel? And when you desire someone, how is it different?In Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel looks at the story of sex in committed couples. Modern romance promises it all - a lifetime of togetherness, intimacy and erotic desire. In reality, it's hard to want what you already have. Our quest for secure love conflicts with our pursuit of passion. And often, the very thing that got us to into our relationships - lust - is the one thing that goes missing from them.Determined to reconcile the erotic and the domestic, Perel explains why democracy is a passion killer in the bedroom. Argues for playfulness, distance, and uncertainty. And shows what it takes to bring lust home. Smart, sexy and explosively original, Mating in Captivity is the monogamist's essential bedside read.

An essay on the importance of touch to children's growth and development and to the physical and mental well-being of people of all ages. The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy, well into childhood. Touch is critical for children's growth, development, and health, as well as for adults' physical and mental well-being. Yet American society, claims Tiffany Field, is dangerously touch-deprived. Field, a leading authority on touch and touch therapy, begins this accessible book with an overview of the sociology and anthropology of touching and the basic psychophysical properties of touch. She then reports recent research results on the value of touch therapies, such as massage therapy, for various conditions, including asthma, cancer, autism, and eating disorders. She emphasizes the need for a change in societal attitudes toward touching, particularly among those who work with children.

Challenging accepted theories about what makes for terrific sex, The Erotic Mind is a breakthrough exploration of the least understood dimensions of human sexuality—the psychology of desire, arousal, and fulfillment. Nationally known sex therapist Dr. Jack Morin offers a bold new perspective that celebrates the joys of Eros without denying its risks. Based on an in-depth analysis of over 1,000 provocative stories of peak sexual experiences, The Erotic Mind offers clear, accessible guidance on how anyone can utilize his or her own peak encounters and fantasies as powerful tools of self-discovery. The Erotic Mind explains the many paradoxes of erotic life, such as: why we're most excited when we must overcome obstacles; how anxiety, guilt, and anger—generally thought to have a negative impact on sexual arousal—often turn out to be aphrodisiacs; how we use unresolved issues from our early lives to intensify passion; and why the best sex is dynamic and unpredictable, rather than static and safe. These and other insights, combined with concrete suggestions for increasing our enjoyment, overcoming our problems, and revitalizing our relationships, will change forever the way we think about our eroticism.

'This book feels so hopeful because it's direct, it's really honest, and it's so actionable' Brené Brown______What makes love last? Why do some couples stay together forever, while others fall apart? Is there a formula for building a love that lasts? How can you revive and renew your relationship in just seven days?For the past fifty years, Drs. John and Julie Gottman have been studying love. The Seven-Day Love Prescription distils their work into an accessible, bite-size, seven-day action plan for deeper intimacy. Taking you through their most foundational findings, the Gottmans will help you build a love that lasts in just seven days. Through small, immediately actionable daily steps, they will help you to shift your relationship for the better, providing trusted antidotes to common issues from loneliness and emotional and physical disconnection, to drifting apart and losing that loving feeling. These will teach you how to:· Connect and check in with each other· Ask each other big, open-ended questions· Show appreciation and gratitude by saying thank you· Give your partner a genuine compliment· Communicate what you need· Create moments of physical connection· Declare a date nightNo matter who you are, or what kind of relationship you want to strengthen, The Seven-Day Love Prescription is guaranteed to provide you with the practical tools to transform any relationship in your life for the better. The Gottmans prove that small frequent changes over just seven days can strengthen the foundations of all relationships, allow them to flourish, and create big, long-lasting change over time.______'There isn't a marriage or romantic partnership out there that won't benefit from this book' New York Journal of Books

From licensed therapist and popular Instagram relationship expert Vienna Pharaon comes a profound guide to understanding and overcoming wounds from your family of origin - the foundation of how we relate to others, ourselves, and the world around us. None of us had a perfect childhood; we are all carrying around behaviors that don't serve us - and may in fact be hurting us. But it doesn't have to be that way, says licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Vienna Pharaon. Our past might create our patterns, but we can change those patterns for the better with the right tools. In THE ORIGINS OF YOU, Pharaon has unlocked a healing process to help us understand our family of origin - the family and framework we grew up within - and examine what worked (and didn't) in that system. Certain dysfunctions (or "wounds") in that family of origin will manifest in our adult life in surprising ways, from work challenges to interpersonal struggles. But when armed with the knowledge about our past, we can rewire our programming to meaningfully improve our relationships and our lives. It doesn't matter whether you've been in therapy for decades, or whether therapy isn't for you. It doesn't matter if you have plenty of memories from childhood, or struggle to remember anything at all. All that matters is your willingness to look inside yourself, and your determination to find a new way forward. Complete with guided introspection, personal experiences, client stories, frameworks for having difficult conversations, and worksheets to complement each chapter, THE ORIGINS OF YOU will teach you how your family can both build you up and break you down - and how you can heal yourself for good.

In The Dance of Intimacy, the bestselling author of The Dance of Anger outlines the steps to take so that good relationships can be strengthened and difficult ones can be healed. Taking a careful look at those relationships where intimacy is most challenged--by distance, intensity, or pain--she teaches us about the specific changes we can make to achieve a more solid sense of self and a more intimate connectedness with others. Combining clear advice with vivid case examples, Dr. Lerner offers us the most solid, helpful book on intimate relationships that both women and men may ever encounter.

Is it impossible to let go — despite the pain?• Do you yearn for someone who is not physically or emotionally available to you?• Do you believe that if you love him enough he will have to love you?• When you feel insecure, does it drive you only to want her more?• Do you find yourself phoning repeatedly or waiting long hours for the phone to ring?Do you wish someone would let go of you?• Does an ex-lover or ex-spouse refuse to believe that it’s over?• Do you receive unwanted phone calls, letters, presents, or visits?• Is this pursuit of you creating so much anxiety that it affects your physical or emotional well-being?In this invaluable self-help guide, Dr. Susan Forward presents vivid case histories as well as the real-life voices of men and women caught in the grip of obsessive passion.Whether you’re an obsessive lover or the target of such an obsession, here is a proven, step-by-step program that shows you how to recognize the “connection compulsion,” what causes it, and how to break its hold on your life so that you can go on to build healthy, lasting, and pain-free relationships.

NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAYBESTSELLER • Stop working on yourself as an individual and start working on your relationship as a couple, with the help of the renowned family therapist and author of The New Rules of Marriage“This book is a road map for all of us who seek true intimacy.”—GWYNETH PALTROW, founder and CEO of goopONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street JournalNot much is harder than figuring out how to love your partner in all their messy humanness—and there’s also not much that’s more important.At a time when toxic individualism is rending our society at every level, bestselling author and renowned marriage counselor Terrence Real sees how it poisons intimate relationships in his therapy practice, where he works with couples on the brink of disaster. The good news: Warmer, closer, more passionate relationships are possible if you have the right tools.In his transformative new book Us, Real brilliantly observes how our winner-takes-all culture infiltrates families with devastating results: repetitive fights that go nowhere, or a distant relationship in which partners end up living “alone together.” With deft insight, humor, and charm, Real guides you to transform your relationship into one that’s based on compassion, collaboration, and closeness.Us is a groundbreaking guide to a new science-backed skillset—one that will allow you to get past your knee-jerk reactions and tap into your wiser, more collaborative self. With a novelist’s flair, Real shares the stories of couples whose relationships have been saved by these skills and pans out to the culture that reinforces our dysfunction. If you and your partner are backed into separate corners of “you” and “me,” this book will show the way back to “us.” With Us, your true relationship can begin.

NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • Stop working on yourself as an individual and start working on your relationship as a couple, with the help of the renowned family therapist and author of The New Rules of Marriage “This book is a road map for all of us who seek true intimacy.”—GWYNETH PALTROW, founder and CEO of goopONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street JournalNot much is harder than figuring out how to love your partner in all their messy humanness—and there’s also not much that’s more important. At a time when toxic individualism is rending our society at every level, bestselling author and renowned marriage counselor Terrence Real sees how it poisons intimate relationships in his therapy practice, where he works with couples on the brink of disaster. The good news: Warmer, closer, more passionate relationships are possible if you have the right tools. In his transformative book Us, Real brilliantly observes how our winner-takes-all culture infiltrates families with devastating results: repetitive fights that go nowhere, or a distant relationship in which partners end up living “alone together.” With deft insight, humor, and charm, Real guides you to transform your relationship into one that’s based on compassion, collaboration, and closeness. Us is a groundbreaking guide to a new science-backed skillset—one that will allow you to get past your knee-jerk reactions and tap into your wiser, more collaborative self. With a novelist’s flair, Real shares the stories of couples whose relationships have been saved by these skills and pans out to the culture that reinforces our dysfunction. If you and your partner are backed into separate corners of “you” and “me,” this book will show the way back to “us.” With Us, your true relationship can begin.