Making Right Turns in Your Relationship : How Couples Work Together to Create Change, Enhance Intimacy Strengthen Communication

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Summary: One of the more insightful books of this genre
Review: In any relationship both partners will have to make choices and be responsible for their actions. Sometimes they will be the right choice and sometimes they will not. When you make a bad choice, or wrong turn, you cause the relationship to experience tension, frustration, and disappointment that you should not have to endure. Making the right turn allows you to avoid these problems and experience more satisfaction in the relationship. While nobody is perfect and so there will always be times when we make a wrong turn, it is possible to learn to identify them early and make the right choices more and more often. This is the goal of this book, to teach the reader how to identify and make those right turns.

The author starts by examining the characteristics of both a healthy and unhealthy relationship. From there he moves to understanding and respecting your relationship, creating a vision for where you want your relationship to be, and making it a priority in your life to move in that direction. By the time he gets the reader to this point the author starts asking the reader to consider their answers to various questions to help gain direction for their relationship. For example he asks, "What behaviors do you want to stop doing on a daily basis?", "What behaviors would you like to start implementing daily?", "Identify several positive characteristics or behaviors of your partner."

Other areas the author looks at include the rules and boundaries we live by, how to communicate better, better problem solving skills, creating change, and creating an action plan. If you want to take an active role in improving your relationship this book will help you understand how. There are other books on rescuing or improving a relationship but very few of them go as far as Myron Lewis has done in preparing insightful questions to help the reader decide what is important, what needs to change, and how to achieve that change. Making Right Turns in Your Relationship is highly recommended for anyone who truly wants to work through a plan with their partner to actively create change in their relationship and manage that change to create the best possible relationship.

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Summary: Relationship book review
Review: This book is highly reccommended for anyone who wants to get the best they can out of their relationship with a significant other. Which would included most people. I beleive that while you are working on developing a healthy relationship with your spouse,etc. You may use some of these thoughts and techniques to help strengthen other relationship with friends, family and even strangers. While it is based on the relationship of the significant other, some techiques of listening to others and understanding yourself will benefit your communications skills. We don't get an education on relationship and communication skills in school, and unless you had great examples of parents (which doesn't seem common enough) you can learn these skills now. Enjoy this book and good luck with your relationships. Maria BLackmer-Michigan

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Summary: With the proper tools we can make changes happen.
Review: With a realistic understanding that change is difficult, author Myron Lewis offers this no-nonsense, straightforward approach to relationship building. As an active member of the relationship rescue squad (I was divorced in '03 and remarried in '04), I can truly say this is the best couple's self-help book I've seen - and I've seen dozens.

Using a blend of Zen and Behavior Modification, Lewis asks couples to create a "relationship vision," a picture or movie of how we want to see ourselves together. Having such a vision to refer to helps us identify when we're off track and provides a model to hold ourselves accountable to. He stresses the need to keep the relationship a priority by setting aside time and reinforcing positive behaviors, and asks readers to list daily, weekly, monthly and yearly activities to continue or start doing together. Such lists are found throughout the book, but they are simple to understand and easily completed, unlike the more complicated workbook-style exercises found in similar books.

Accomplishing these simple but gratifying tasks helps battle the number one relationship killer: lack of communication. Even MEN should respond to this logical, step-by-step approach! In plain-spoken style, Lewis explains the characteristics of dependence, independence, and interdependence (test question: which is better?) and gives sample interactions to illustrate ways to create and reinforce the latter. He explains the importance of achieving emotional awareness and clarifies how rules in a relationship are choices that need to be made and negotiated. Communication + understanding = problem solving for positive change. All of us want to feel appreciated, valued and accepted, and this book is the perfect tool for bringing that to our relationships.