Rating: 
Summary: A Second Opinion....
Review: As usual, Phil McGraw is steps ahead of the rest of us in sorting out what is *really* going on in relationships. Refreshingly, he begins the book by questioning the therapeutic standards too often given to the thousands of couples in trouble. "The divorce rate in America refuses to drop below fifty percent, and twenty percent of us will divorce not once but twice in our lifetime. Clearly, pleasant and generic instructions on how to communicate better or theoretical musings that give you great insights about relationships just weren't going to cut it fifteen years ago and won't cut it now. " Obviously (to paraphrase him), couples therapy as we have known it isn't working. You can watch him often on Oprah, but this book is the next best thing to either watching him there, or having him as your personal therapist. This book is primarily for relationships 'on the rocks' - the first steps are set up to evaluate and understand what your relationship is, how it got this way (no surprise, it didn't fall apart on its own, or because of your partner). The Seven Steps are not simple or simplistic, but provide structure for thought and more. This book is not about what's wrong with your partner and how to fix him or her. It is about the person reading the book -- you! This would be a great book for new couples to read together (and for this price, why not order one for you and one for your loved one, and read them first in private, then together), not just before they are in crisis, but before they decide to marry. When the relationship is still strong, new, fresh, it is more likely that both people will be willing to talk openly about what they expect and want, and to be able to use the truly helpful instructions on how to stay together. For those in a troubled relationship, you might want to read this yourself first, and work on your own issues. Dr. Phil has a directness that can be intimidating to some - but for some of us, we need that extra push. This book is on my must have list for newlyweds as well as those in trouble. Highly recommended for those who truly want that relationship to work!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Dr. Phil tells it like it is. Don't read this book unless you can handle the truth. If you aren't willing to try, there is no sense reading his strong words. A more fun read is The Romantic's Guide. Tons of creative ideas and pearls of wisdom.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This book will lift your spirits as well as make you feel like you can change anything and anyone just by changing youself. I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Phil at a taping of the Oprah show in Chicago and he is as inspiring in person as he makes you feel when you read this very uplifting, motivating book. I guarantee you will not be sorry you did. I have read it twice and listened to the audio and it has changed my whole outlook on life. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to make their relationship better in any way.
Rating:
Summary: Relationship Foundation, Improvement, and Rescue
Review: This book deserves many more than five stars. It is as close as you can get to having a hands-on guide to improving your relationships as you can get without having a trained counselor present. It's too bad that most people will take on this book because they have a bad or failing relationship. It would be much better to start with this approach in the beginning. I hope marriage advisors, parents, living together couples, and engaged people will become familiar with this book and recommend it to others. The book is extremely direct. The author makes it clear that you have to first change yourself before you can change you relationship. The book is extremely well structured for easy use both as a book and as a workbook. It is divided into seven steps (define and diagnose where the relationship is now; get rid of your wrong thinking about relationships; find out what you are doing to hurt the relationships; internalize the values needed to build and maintain strong relationships; the necessary format for a strong relationship; and how to reconnect and manage the relationship). Each section is filled with diagnostic questions for you and your partner to use, as well as directions for implementing what you learn. The process involved is a good one. It begins with identifying stalled thinking, works on stallbusting that thinking, and then builds new habits that will work better. The steps are extensive, but you can take them in bite-sized amounts. Before you are done, you will be sharing what you have done with your partner. I have to believe that anyone who was told that their partner had been working on these questions and exercises would be very impressed by the commitment to the relationship that this effort represented. It can help overcome a lot of thoughtlessness that may have preceded that sharing. If your relationship is on the rocks, that idea of reconnecting can be scary. I was impressed to see that the book provides a 14 day program to help you with exercises that help reconnect you emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Most counselors would probably not give you this much guidance. One of the finest things in life is to have a great relationship with other people. This book gives you the necessary background to move in that direction. The rest is up to you, as the author says. Give it a shot! You have a lot to gain!
Rating:
Summary: Some Of The Best Advice If You're In a Problem Relationship
Review: Everyone with a relationship problem can benefit from the concrete, authoritative help offered by this brand new 272 page book. Dr. McGraw offers 7 specific tips for getting relationships back on track. He gives you the 10 most popular relationship myths, along with the appropriate action steps to get you and your partner on the right track. His advice is straight forward, no beating about the bush to make you feel better. His "Relationship Health Profile" contains 62 true or false questions, covering every aspect of a relationship, and provides a score so you can quickly and honestly see the health of your relationship. He offers a 10 part "Relationship Behavior Profile," (for you and for your partner) to help you find out why you feel the way you do about your partner. Throughout the book, Phil stresses that "fixing a relationship means a lot more than fixing your partner!" You'll learn that each person must own up to his or her part of the problem, and that we teach our partners how to treat us - or how to continue treating us - by the way we respond. I found the book to contain sound advice, and there are somethings you won't want to hear about yourself. A Must Read for anyone with a relationship problem. For $ 16.06 you can only benefit !
Rating:
Summary: Gets Serious
Review: As a practicing psychologist, I have seen a number of self-help books that have "useless" written from the get-go. Phil MacGraw's "Relationship Rescue" is NOT one of those useless, quick fix manuals. People who are familiar with Neuro Linguistic Programming will see his models instantly. As other reviewers have mentioned, the emphasis here is that each partner sees how they individually are "at cause" for relationship problems through a series of short and direct questions (i.e. "What did you do today that contributed to or contaminated your relationship?"). This program is not a quick fix, though, and couples may even need to go through the questions more than once. Of most use are the dyads that MacGraw gives couples as "homework" to cover all aspects of what makes a relationship work. And, make no mistake, MacGraw is also quite blunt in his assessment of how men and women view relationships differently, and how often those views are just an excuse for not doing the work. Just as there are different people, there is probably no one book to help people recover from relationship shock, but this is an easy-to-use readable manual that will help the vast majority of people who are ready to end a relationship but do not want to do that until every stone has been turned. Guaranteed to help.
Rating:
Summary: It makes you think
Review: I have just received the book and I have not been able to put it down! This book really lays things down in very real, very straightforward ways and makes you look directly in the face of what it is that you need to do to overcome the obstacles that are in your relationship at the time. You are not going to get a lot of psycho-"babble" like you might have seen in other books. Just be prepared before you order this book that you are committed to working on changes that YOU need to make, not on how you are going to change your partner. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether they are in a rocky marriage or single, because it really does allow you to become introspective and figure out exactly what you want and guides you on how you can change YOUR actions to get it.
Rating:
Summary: A Relationship You Have Always Dreamt of Having
Review: I really enjoyed this book-I especially like Phil's writting of how it is your responsibility and not your partner's to have your relationship be as good as you want it to be. When I was online reading reviews of this book, I took the advise of another reviewer and read "Working On Yourself Doesn't Work: A Book About Instanteous Transformation" by Ariel and Shya Kane. Thank you very much to the person who recommended it-I found it to be the best book on personal transformation I have found out there, and have read it a number of times since buying it. A WONDERFUL BOOK! The Kanes' book was easy to read, fun and life transforming. One of the many miraculous transformation I have seen in my life after reading this book, is of my relationship with my husband as being one of a constant fight to one of love, fun and satisfaction. And yes I agree with the recommender that this book is a must read for anyone who wants to have all their relationships and life be great.
Rating: 
Summary: Problem of Nonparticipating Spouse
Review: Early in the book, Dr. McGraw demands that you improve yourself if you want to improve your relationship. His ideas for self improvement are good. However, later in the book, Dr. McGraw assumes that your spouse can be persuaded to join you in participating in Dr. McGraw's relationship improvement steps. Unfortunately, some spouses have no interest in participating in these steps. Dr. McGraw fails to adequately address this problem in his book.
Rating:
Summary: Relationship Rescue
Review: This book has helped me deal with issues that I never knew how to deal with before. This is a must for anyone wanting to improve on their relationship skills, whether it be with friends or spouses. This isn't just for married couples, it is for anyone wanting to improve their people skills. I think Dr. McGraw is excellent and I want all his books.
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