Rating: 
Summary: Simply Excellent
Review: This is a beautiful, thoughtful book written by a husband and wife team who offer an antidote to the prevailing mindset which has resulted in a high divorce rate and millions of broken promises. The Prathers impart some wisdom on the subject of enduring relationships based on their own experiences and those of the many couples they have counseled over the years.The authors take us through the different stages of a marriage and map out what to expect and how to deal with these changes. They present an excellent strategy for having arguments, and discuss how much people lose out on by choosing divorce. There is a good chapter on dealing with an affair. They end with the six promises of a real relationship I felt that almost everything they have to say here rings true. This is a great roadmap for staying married forever and reaping the rewards of lifelong love and friendship. They inspire me to have a successful and "real" marriage. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: practical; indepth info on recovery from affairs
Review: This is a logical book that addresses real problems people have and stresses the necessity of recognizing ones own weaknesses and strength. Constancy and interdependence by the couple is advocated rather than separateness and self interests. It speaks the downside of divorce and its effects on children, adults and especially society as a whole. If you're having trouble, get in there and read this, together or on your own but read it before you give up!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Only Relationship Book You'll Ever Need
Review: This is without question the best book on relationships I've ever read. I am a huge fan of the Prathers, and this book is one of their best. It has saved my marriage on more than one occasion, and I have given it as a gift to many friends embarking on new relationships, marriages or at a difficult stage in the one they're in. The bottom line message is about treating one's partner with gentleness, and being their best friend in the world. This involves a good deal of soul searching, forgiveness, honesty and dialogue - but more than anything it's a mindset, a willingness to love unconditionally. It's BIG stuff, and not for the faint-hearted or those who prefer to be right than happy. If what you're after is the ever-deepening joy of a long-term commitment, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Defying the Ebb Tide of Divorce
Review: When conflicts arise in a marriage, the promise of peace through divorce is a temptation that few can resist. Divorce has become an acceptable and frequently encouraged solution to marital problems. As the Prathers tell us, today's "separation psychology," with its myriad of support groups and counselors, promotes selfishness: "you have a right to the kind of life you want," "the right partner will share your interests, meet your needs, and grow at the same rate you grow," "what's best for you is best for the children." Then we have the lure of certain "new age" ideas, such as the concept of soul mates, which excuses us from fulfilling our commitment to our original "imperfect" partner while we search for our "perfect counterpart."
The Prathers contend that none of us "deserves" an "ideal primary relationship and the fulfillment of all our dreams. What we deserve is love, and we have it only when we give it." For more than 20 years, Hugh and Gayle Prather have counseled couples and encouraged them to give to one another, thus building permanent, satisfying, and spiritually based relationships - the kind that can "go through fire."
The Prathers found that couples who divorces in spite of counseling are rarely happier after separation, and the betrayal of abandonment is damaging to their children and the community, as well as to the soul of the betrayer. The Prathers see the rash of divorces in today's society as one of the symptoms of an epidemic of fear and hatred. Their hope is that I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU will serve as an emergency manual to deal with tis ongoing disaster.
Filled with wit and wisdom, this manual takes us through all the stages a couple typically experiences in a long-term relationship. It clearly outlines the exercises and sensitizing techniques that the Prathers and their clients have used to successfully heal the breaches in their faltering unions.
The Prathers hold up the real relationship as the ideal for all couples to strive toward. Their definition of a "real" relationship is "one in which two people love each other to fulfill themselves rather than withdraw from each other to fulfill themselves." It is "unquestionably a haven from fear... Once it becomes the goal of any two people, it not only lasts but grows stronger and lovelier with every effort." Any couple who sets this kind of relationship as a goal will find that the Prathers' book will serve as a guide through the storms of life until the two can say to each other: "I love you; I bless you; I want to walk home to God with you." Emily VanLaeys, author of DREAM WEAVING: USING DREAM GUIDANCE TO CREATE LIFE'S TAPESTRY
Rating:
Summary: Defying the Ebb Tide of Divorce
Review: When conflicts arise in a marriage, the promise of peace through divorce is a temptation that few can resist. Divorce has become an acceptable and frequently encouraged solution to marital problems. As the Prathers tell us, today's "separation psychology," with its myriad of support groups and counselors, promotes selfishness: "you have a right to the kind of life you want," "the right partner will share your interests, meet your needs, and grow at the same rate you grow," "what's best for you is best for the children." Then we have the lure of certain "new age" ideas, such as the concept of soul mates, which excuses us from fulfilling our commitment to our original "imperfect" partner while we search for our "perfect counterpart."
The Prathers contend that none of us "deserves" an "ideal primary relationship and the fulfillment of all our dreams. What we deserve is love, and we have it only when we give it." For more than 20 years, Hugh and Gayle Prather have counseled couples and encouraged them to give to one another, thus building permanent, satisfying, and spiritually based relationships - the kind that can "go through fire."
The Prathers found that couples who divorces in spite of counseling are rarely happier after separation, and the betrayal of abandonment is damaging to their children and the community, as well as to the soul of the betrayer. The Prathers see the rash of divorces in today's society as one of the symptoms of an epidemic of fear and hatred. Their hope is that I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU will serve as an emergency manual to deal with tis ongoing disaster.
Filled with wit and wisdom, this manual takes us through all the stages a couple typically experiences in a long-term relationship. It clearly outlines the exercises and sensitizing techniques that the Prathers and their clients have used to successfully heal the breaches in their faltering unions.
The Prathers hold up the real relationship as the ideal for all couples to strive toward. Their definition of a "real" relationship is "one in which two people love each other to fulfill themselves rather than withdraw from each other to fulfill themselves." It is "unquestionably a haven from fear... Once it becomes the goal of any two people, it not only lasts but grows stronger and lovelier with every effort." Any couple who sets this kind of relationship as a goal will find that the Prathers' book will serve as a guide through the storms of life until the two can say to each other: "I love you; I bless you; I want to walk home to God with you." Emily VanLaeys, author of DREAM WEAVING: USING DREAM GUIDANCE TO CREATE LIFE'S TAPESTRY
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