NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Over a million copies sold! “An eminently practical guide to an emotionally intelligent—and long-lasting—marriage.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman’s unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide couples on a path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Straightforward yet profound, these principles teach partners new approaches for resolving conflicts, creating new common ground, and achieving greater levels of intimacy. Gottman offers strategies and resources to help couples collaborate more effectively to resolve any problem, whether dealing with issues related to sex, money, religion, work, family, or anything else. Packed with new exercises and the latest research out of the esteemed Gottman Institute, this revised edition of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential.

Just as Masters and Johnson were pioneers in the study of human sexuality, so Dr. John Gottman has revolutionized the study of marriage. As a professor of psychology at the University of Washington and the founder and director of the Seattle Marital and Family Institute, he has studied the habits of married couples in unprecedented detail over the course of many years. His findings, and his heavily attended workshops, have already turned around thousands of faltering marriages. This book is the culmination of his life's work: the seven principles that guide couples on the path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Straightforward in their approach, yet profound in their effect, these principles teach partners new and startling strategies for making their marriage work. Gottman helps couples focus on each other, on paying attention to the small day-to-day moments that, strung together, make up the heart and soul of any relationship. Being thoughtful about ordinary matters provides spouses with a solid foundation for resolving conflict when it does occur and finding strategies for living with those issues that cannot be resolved. Packed with questionnaires and exercises whose effectiveness has been proven in Dr. Gottman's workshops, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the result of Dr. John Gottman's many years of closely observing thousands of marriages. This kind of longitudinal research has never been done before. Based on his findings, he has culled seven principles essential to the success of any marriage. Maintain a love map. Foster fondness and admiration. Turn toward instead of away. Accept influence. Solve solvable conflicts. Cope with conflicts you can't resolve. Create shared meaning. Dr. Gottman's unique questionnaires and exercises will guide couples on the road to revitalizing their marriage, or making a strong one even better.

More than 2.4 million couples get married each year, but over 40 percent of all marriages in the U.S. result in divorce. The reason for this is that couples fail to follow simple principles that lead to a happy and successful marriage. This is what this book is all about. Simple Principles for a Happy & Healthy Marriage offers practical tips and advice that any married couple can apply right away to enhance their relationship. Written in a direct, easy-to-read style, this book offers simple principles that couples of any age must follow, including the secrets of communication, trust, romance, finances, and resolving conflict. Whether the couples are newlyweds or long-married senior citizens, they will all benefit from the wisdom contained in Simple Principles for a Happy & Healthy Marriage. In addition to the 200 powerful principles for a successful marriage and their supporting text, this book contains exercises that couples can practice to build a strong and lasting relationship. Alex A. Lluch is the author of over 70 best-selling books in subjects such as parenting, babies, children, weddings, health, and home. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife and three children.

SIMPLE HABITS FOR MARITAL HAPPINESS is an incredible book that covers every aspect of a marriage to help you create a vibrant, rewarding relationship that grows stronger every day. Backed by over thirty years of experience, Dr. Randy Schroeder - a pastor and marriage counselor - helps you develop the habits your marriage needs. These straightforward, easy-to-understand lessons will show you how to... Apologize and forgive. Stay in love after the honeymoon. Communicate effectively with your spouse. Safeguard your oneness. Maintain emotional and physical closeness. Disagree without hurting your relationship. Budget, save, and spend together.

Powerful techniques for strengthening your marriage! The stresses and strains of life can unravel the tight bond you once had with your spouse, leaving you feeling lonely, frustrated, and unfulfilled. 75 Habits for a Happy Marriage shows you how to restore that intimate and joyful union with simple, positive actions that bring you closer together throughout the day. Designed by authors Ashley and Daniel Bush, each activity takes only a matter of minutes and gives you a moment to set aside the demands of your career, finances, and chores in order to focus on what matters most--your love. When practiced consistently, these powerful behaviors will become lifelong customs and an important part of your daily routine, ensuring that your relationship continues to grow in the right direction in the years to come. From embracing each other for at least twenty seconds after work to touching your partner during dinner, these valuable habits will instantly boost warm, passionate feelings and help you maintain that loving connection even when managing a crowded schedule. With the guidance and practices detailed in 75 Habits for a Happy Marriage, you will enrich the bond you share with your partner and build a happy, supportive, and long-lasting marriage.

Keys are tools to open up things that are locked. They are either locked up, locked away, or locked to keep you out. Do you know that the devil wants the answers to a successful marriage to be locked up, locked away, and most definitely he wants you locked out from those successes? But God has provided the keys. Now these are not the only keys, but they will help you get started to unlock the doors and padlocks that have kept you from enjoying the fullness and happiness of your marriage that God has intended for you.

Peter Kalellis, a practicing psychotherapist and family counselor, offers here practical advice for spouses or those in a committed relationship that clarifies the potential within each person to make their marriage or relationship better. A good marriage begins with a man and w woman who form a loving relationship, psychologically sound, that provides stability, financial security, and material benefits. A serious relationship consists of personal needs, attitudes, ambitions, expectations and issues that require solutions. Emphasis is placed on what one partner does and how the other responds. Feelings and attitudes, both conscious and unconscious, are gradually revealed, and reciprocal attention must be paid so they do not become obstacles in the relationship. The purpose of reciprocity is to bring emotional stability and happiness to both partners. The degree of satisfaction that each spouse derives from the other and the relationship depend on how well expectations are met. Most people pursue physical pleasures or various forms of self-gratification. "When I obtain this or am free of that--then I will be okay." Invariably, any satisfaction that we obtain--accumulation of material wealth or physical pleasure--is short-lived and usually is projected onto the future. This mindset creates the illusion of happiness in the married life. True happiness can be attained as each spouse faces the realities of marriage, and takes personal responsibility of his or her part. This book provides tools for a better relationship and suggests that the couple become aware of God's presence in their life. As our world is going through critical times, couples begin to realize that there is no satisfactory answer in whatever options society offers. But most people find comfort in returning to God, who is the sources of life and provider of all good things. +

While observing exotic animal trainers for her acclaimed book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used these training techniques with the human animals in her own life–namely her dear husband, Scott? In this lively and perceptive book, Sutherland tells how she took the trainers’ lessons home. The next time her forgetful husband stomped through the house in search of his mislaid car keys, she asked herself, “What would a dolphin trainer do?” The answer was: nothing. Trainers reward the behavior they want and, just as important, ignore the behavior they don’t. Rather than appease her mate’s rising temper by joining in the search, or fuel his temper by nagging him to keep better track of his things in the first place, Sutherland kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the dishes she was washing. In short order, Scott found his keys and regained his cool. “I felt like I should throw him a mackerel,” she writes. In time, as she put more training principles into action, she noticed that she became more optimistic and less judgmental, and their twelve-year marriage was better than ever. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. In the end, the biggest lesson she learned is that the only animal you can truly change is yourself. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage describes Sutherland’s Alice-in-Wonderland experience of stumbling into a world where cheetahs walk nicely on leashes and elephants paint with watercolors, and of leaving a new, improved Homo sapiens.

Life is not a flow chart. We weren't meant to master it on our own. The discussion guides in the Transformation of a Man's Heart series put us in conversation with God and with one another to see how God shapes and transforms us in the ordinary experiences of our lives.This guide by Stephen W. Smith and Gary Chapman demystifies marriage for men.

What if God designed marriage to make you holy instead of happy? What if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God? In Sacred Marriage, bestselling author Gary Thomas uncovers the ways that your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and with each other. Join over one million others who have already uncovered Thomas's tips for fostering a sacred marriage. Within the pages of Sacred Marriage, Thomas invites you to see how God can use your relationship with your spouse as a discipline and a motivation to love God more and reflect more of the character of his Son. In addition to life-changing insights from Scripture, church history, and time-tested wisdom from Christian classics, you'll find practical advice and techniques to make your marriage happier by becoming holier husbands and wives. In Sacred Marriage, Thomas will give you all of the tools you need to: Turn marital struggles into spiritual and personal appreciation Love your spouse with a stronger sense of purpose Confront your weaknesses and sin in order to grow your relationship with God and with your spouse Partner in the spiritual growth and character formation of your spouse Transform a tired marriage into a relationship filled with awe and respect Thomas reveals that sacred marriages teach us to love God and others well by fostering a healthy sex life, a strong prayer life, and a rich spiritual life. God uses our marriages to help us grow in character, in prayer, in worship, and in service--we just have to recognize that the purpose of marriage is holiness, not happiness. Each copy also includes thought-provoking discussion questions designed to spark conversation between couples and small groups, allowing you to dive deeper into the lessons that Thomas shares in Sacred Marriage. Join the one million others who have already started on their journey to transforming their relationship with their spouses and with their Creator.