Marriage in Motion: The Natural Ebb & Flow of Lasting Relationships

by Jacqueline Olds, Richard Schwartz, Richard S. Schwartz

Book Overview

From one day to the next, there is no such thing as constancy in a marital relationship. When we are moving toward one another, we feel the joy of increased intimacy. When we are moving away from one another, we feel sad, irritated, or angry, or we tend not notice the shift in intimacy at all. The longtime effect of this drifting apart can be miscommunication at best, separation or divorce at worst.Drawing on case studies to dramatize the natural...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738208302
• ISBN13: 9780738208305
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Interesting reading, thoughtful insights

Easy to read in a colloquial, flowing style the narrative presents overwhelming concepts in a pattern thoughtful and clear. It's helpful to see how the authors support each observation with research, data and case studies. The book is presented in such a way that it can address a broad audience both in age and stage of life. If you do buy this book however, please keep in mind that relationships do not have to be "all ebb-flow-all oceans come an end" which is what the authors suggest.

Cheaper than therapy and just as useful

While reading this book I found myself thinking that it would be great to have the authors as therapists for me and my spouse. By the time I was finished I felt I had, feelings shared by my spouse, who also read it. This book manages to pack an amazing amount of useful information into a small enough volume that my usual excuse - I don't have the time to read - could not be applied to avoid it. With its good-humored, down-to-earth yet professional style I found it reader-friendly and genuinely instructive.If your marriage is not an absolute wreck this book could help you save a considerable amount of money by either obviating the need for, or shortening the length of, marriage counseling.

Friends of marriage

Reading this book about marriage is like talking to wise and thoughtful friends who know what it takes to make it work. They are friends of marriage, describing it with compassion, and prescribing commitment, flexibility, attention, respect for its rhythms, and tender loving care. I think this book is even better than the authors' first (on loneliness) and that anyone who reads it will be graced with insights into his own relationships, supported by fascinating field trips to a range of fields of knowledge as well as the sound seconding of intuition.

A very important, topical book

The author's collective narrative, written from a peer level that alludes to their own marital adaptations, combined with research and therapeutic examples, creates an imminently readable book. The tone is conversational, the issues discussed important to all families. I highly recommend this book.

A wonderful book about couples

I loved this book. I've been a therapist for many years, and I'm always on the lookout for books that both improve my understanding of couples, and also that couples in therapy can profit from reading (like some of John Gottman's books). Marriage in Motion is exactly this kind of book. It's erudite without being stuffy, and informative without being pedantic. It also displays a knowledge of the deep structure of marriages that has rarely been written about. Added to this is the sensitivity and compassion of the authors displayed toward the couples they describe. By the time I finished the book, I actually felt I had learned something new and helpful about couples, in and out of therapy.