All you need is love, right? Wrong. The authors of Fighting for Your Marriage contend that conflict in intimate relationships is as normal and essential as love. How you fight and resolve conflicts determines the difference between a sustained healthy and satisfying marriage or endless pain, frustration, and often divorce. At a time when families are falling apart at alarming rates and with enormous social cost, we now have a research-based program to prevent relationship breakdown. With a fresh and unique perspective, the authors combine their twenty years of university-based research and counseling experiences with thousands of couples – from newly engaged to veteran – to present the powerful, proven strategies of the highly acclaimed PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) approach for helping couples beat the odds and master the skills that can prevent marital distress and divorce. They reveal, for example, research that highlights the major difference between men and women in relationships – it’s the way they fight – and how shared commitment is essential for fair fighting between partners. At the end of each chapter, the authors provide engaging exercises for practicing sensible new tactics for dealing with minor irritations or tough and sensitive issues. Step by step, they describe how to establish ground rules that provide the safety and structure needed to handle issues well. The authors offer wisdom, real-life examples, and specific guidance on how couples can enhance, fortify, or restore their fun, friendship, sensuality, and spirituality for a meaningful lifetime together. (2001)

Author: Howard J. Markman, Scott M. Stanley, Susan L. Blumberg
Additional Author: Jossey Bass
ISBN: 0-7879-5744-5
Count: 1