"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.”

Champion jockey Melanie Preston believes romance is a complication best avoided. She has enough to worry about with Quest Stables tottering on the edge of financial ruin! But when the gorgeous thorn in her side—horse trainer Marcus Vasquez—leaves to open his own stable, Melanie is torn between relief… and desire for a man she can't trust. For Marcus's dark good looks go hand in hand with a past that's just as mysterious…. Now, as he and Melanie are plunged into a dangerous plot, only Marcus's secrets can unlock Quest's Thoroughbred mystery…if they don't threaten Melanie's life!

The war is over between the neighboring realms of Canderis and Marchmont. But another and perhaps far deadlier battle still rages on. The discovery that Marchmont is home to the Resonants—men and women gifted with the ability to read and control the minds of others—has badly shaken the people of Canderis. For while they value their own Seekers—humans who empathically bond with the catlike ghatti to read truth—they are deathly afraid of the rogue Resonants known as Gleaners. And their fears are well-founded, for one faction of Gleaners has for years preyed upon the innocent and defenseless, transforming those around them into mindless, soulless slaves. And even as Seeker Jenret under takes a mission to find the Resonants of Canderis and bring them to safety, Seeker Doyce is about to embark on a far different path—a ghatti-led journey into the past. For as a new vigilantes’ reign of terror threatens the lives of Seekers and Resonants alike, the secrets of that long-ago time when the first Seeker-ghatti Bond was formed may hold the only hope for the future…

"One of the foremost relationship experts at work today offers creative insight on building trust and avoiding betrayal, helping readers to decode the mysteries of healthy love and relationships"--

This volume contains 30 original pen-and-ink and pencil drawings sprinkled throughout the chapters. This novel takes place in 18th century St. Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of golf. It's about a father-son relationship, how they bond together.

Jim Thompson's classic The Grifters is one of the best novels ever written about the art of the con, an ingeniously crafted story of deception and betrayal that was the basis for the critically acclaimed film by Stephen Frears and Martin Scorcese. To his friends, to his coworkers, and even to his mistress Moira, Roy Dillon is an honest hardworking salesman. He lives in a cheap hotel just within his pay bracket. He goes to work every day. He has hundreds of friends and associates who could attest to his good character. Yet, hidden behind three gaudy clown paintings in Roy's pallid hotel room, sits fifty-two thousand dollars — the money Roy makes from his short cons, his "grifting." For years, Roy has effortlessly maintained control over his house-of-cards life — until the simplest con goes wrong, and he finds himself critically injured and at the mercy of the most dangerous woman he ever met: his own mother.