“After years of debate and inquiry, the key to a great marriage remained shrouded in mystery. Until now...”—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Eli J. Finkel's insightful and ground-breaking investigation of marriage clearly shows that the best marriages today are better than the best marriages of earlier eras. Indeed, they are the best marriages the world has ever known. He presents his findings here for the first time in this lucid, inspiring guide to modern marital bliss. The All-or-Nothing Marriage reverse engineers fulfilling marriages—from the “traditional” to the utterly nontraditional—and shows how any marriage can be better. The primary function of marriage from 1620 to 1850 was food, shelter, and protection from violence; from 1850 to 1965, the purpose revolved around love and companionship. But today, a new kind of marriage has emerged, one oriented toward self-discover, self-esteem, and personal growth. Finkel combines cutting-edge scientific research with practical advice; he considers paths to better communication and responsiveness; he offers guidance on when to recalibrate our expectations; and he even introduces a set of must-try “lovehacks.” This is a book for the newlywed to the empty nester, for those thinking about getting married or remarried, and for anyone looking for illuminating advice that will make a real difference to getting the most out of marriage today.

The definitive anthology of wisdom and wit about one of life’s most complex, intriguing, and personal subjects. When and whom do you marry? How do you keep a spouse content? Do all engaged couples get cold feet? How cold is so cold that you should pivot and flee? Where and how do children fit in? Is infidelity always wrong? In this volume, you won’t find a single answer to your questions about marriage; you will find hundreds. Spanning centuries and cultures, sources and genres, The Marriage Book offers entries from ancient history and modern politics, poetry and pamphlets, plays and songs, newspaper ads and postcards. It is an A to Z compendium, exploring topics from Adam and Eve to Anniversaries, Fidelity to Freedom, Separations to Sex. In this volume, you’ll hear from novelists, clergymen, sex experts, and presidents, with guest appearances by the likes of Liz and Dick, Ralph and Alice, Louis CK, and Neil Patrick Harris. Casanova calls marriage the tomb of love, and Stephen King calls it his greatest accomplishment. With humor, perspective, breadth, and warmth, The Marriage Book is sure to become a classic.

Brimming with helpful information and tips, The Everything Great Marriage Book can help bring harmony to any relationship.

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.

Every newly married couple wants to beat the odds and make their marriage work. Unfortunately, 50 percent of first marriages and 65 percent of second marriages fail. Clearly, couples need guidance and support to keep their partnerships strong. In this guide married couple Stephen Martin and Victoria Costello offer information, tips, and advice to help readers: Recognize danger signs in a marriage Communicate effectively Handle discussions about money, sex, kids, and other tough topics Keep the passion alive Maintain a sense of identity within a partnership Navigate special situations, such as stepfamilies and cultural differences With the help of this concise book, couples can address problems before they become dealbreakers. From the stress of combining finances and raising kids to dealing with in-laws and blending families, thereÆs a lot of pressure in a marriage. But all it takes is a little information and determination to make it workùand to make it last.

Therapists Linda and Charlie Bloom have been married more than 35 years. To understand what makes a happy marriage, they interviewed 29 couples who have been married more than 20 years, who seem as happy as newlyweds--and share their findings.

WHAT DO EXCEPTIONAL COUPLES KNOW THAT OTHERS DON’T? If roughly fifty percent of marriages fail, what about the other fifty percent—the ones that “succeed”? Are those couples who stay together necessarily happy? No, not necessarily. In fact, many marriages that remain intact are far less than ideal. A mere seven percent are really good—in fact, exceptional. These couples have much greater than average passion, happiness, longevity, and fulfillment. And the good news is, luck has nothing to do with it. But if less-than-exceptional marriages are made up of men who are supposedly from Mars and women who are supposedly from Venus, what planet do exceptional husbands and wives come from? What are the secrets of exceptional couples . . . and what can they teach us? Marriage therapist Gregory K. Popcak believes that ways of relating employed by exceptional couples can benefit all marriages. In The Exceptional Seven Percent, he looks at the most successful couples and exposes their secrets. Each chapter examines in detail the basic characteristics of exceptional couples, including: · Developing a marital imperative—the key to unlocking all the other Exceptional Couple qualities · Setting and achieving emotional goals · Cultivating exceptional levels of fidelity, loving, service, rapport, negotiation, gratitude, joy, and sexuality Through anecdotes, analyses, exercises, quizzes, and guidance that is consistently supported by marriage research, you’ll learn what your weaknesses are and how you can begin to make positive changes. You have the power to turn your marriage into the most precious thing in your life. Why settle for anything less?