Marriage Rules: A Manual for the Married and the Coupled Up [Hardcover]

Harriet Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 5, 2012

Following a unique format perfect for today's world, the renowned author of The Dance of Anger gives us just over 100 rules that cover all the hot spots in long-term relationships.

Marriage Rules offers new solutions to age-old problems ("He won't talk"/"She doesn't want sex") as well as modern ones (your partner's relationship to technology.) You'll also learn how to:

• Calm things down and warm them up
• Talk straight and fight fair
• Listen well as a spiritual practice
• Connect with a distant partner
• Survive the unique challenges of children, stepchildren and difficult- laws
• Follow a 12-step program to overcome defensiveness
• Know how and when to draw the line
• Take back your marriage when things fall apart

  Marriage Rules is a treasure chest of lively, practical advice to help you navigate your couple relationship with clarity, courage, and joyous conviction. If one person in a couple follows ten rules of his or her choice, it will generate a major, positive change. All that's required is a genuine wish for a better relationship and a willingness to practice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you're asking the question, "But what do I DO?" this book is for you. Marriage Rules is wise, gripping, funny, sanity-saving and above all, useful. It's brimming with Lerner's warmth, sharp wit, remarkable clarity, and practical advice."

(Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. author of Driven to Distraction )

"This is the marriage book we've been waiting for! It's packed with clearheaded counsel and small, doable steps that can turn a relationship around. I saw myself on almost every page, which led to a lot of head- nodding, laughing . . . and wincing! It's one of those rare conversation- starting books that you dog-ear, highlight, and read aloud to your partner at night." -Brené Brown, author of the best-selling book, The Gifts of Imperfection

"This book is an astonishing blend of down-home wisdom and clinical experience. I can't think of a better comprehensive guide to making marriage work for today's couples. Read it for your own relationship and give it to every newlywed you know." -William J. Doherty, Ph.D., professor at the University of Minnesota and author of Take Back Your Marriage

(William J. Doherty, Ph.D., professor at the University of Minnesota and )

"Don't be fooled by this book's simplicity: Lerner, a distinguished psychologist, offers a real-life roadmap for a healthy relationship. She is an outstanding guide, accompanying us on the hard moments of the journey while escorting us firmly in the direction of love and joy and wisdom." -Pat Love, co-author of How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It

"Open this book anywhere and you'll find a rule that will rescue you from the swamps and quicksands of marriage and couplehood.What a beautiful, smart, witty and eminently helpful book!"

(Janis Abrahms Spring, Ph.D., author of After the Affair )

About the Author

Harriet Lerner, PH.D., is one of our nations most loved and respected relationship experts. A renowned scholar on the psychology of women and family relationships, she is the author of The New York Times bestseller, The Dance of Anger, and other acclaimed books that together have sold over six million copies. A clinical psychologist in private practice, Lerner is a distinguished speaker, consultant and workshop leader. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, and NPR and she hosts the "Dance of Connection" blog on psychologytoday.com. She is also, with her sister, an award- winning children's book writer. She and her husband live in Lawrence, Kansas and have two grown sons.

Following a unique format perfect for today's world, the renowned author of The Dance of Anger gives us just over 100 rules that cover all the hot spots in long-term relationships.

Marriage Rules offers new solutions to age-old problems ("He won't talk"/"She doesn't want sex") as well as modern ones (your partner's relationship to technology.) You'll also learn how to:

• Calm things down and warm them up
• Talk straight and fight fair
• Listen well as a spiritual practice
• Connect with a distant partner
• Survive the unique challenges of children, stepchildren and difficult- laws
• Follow a 12-step program to overcome defensiveness
• Know how and when to draw the line
• Take back your marriage when things fall apart

  Marriage Rules is a treasure chest of lively, practical advice to help you navigate your couple relationship with clarity, courage, and joyous conviction. If one person in a couple follows ten rules of his or her choice, it will generate a major, positive change. All that's required is a genuine wish for a better relationship and a willingness to practice.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Gotham (January 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592406912
• ISBN-13: 978-1592406913
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., is one of our nation's most loved and respected relationship experts. Renowned for her work on the psychology of women and family relationships, she served as a staff psychologist at the Menninger Clinic for more than two decades. A distinguished lecturer, workshop leader, and psychotherapist, she is the author of The Dance of Anger and other bestselling books. She is also, with her sister, an award-winning children's book writer. She and her husband are therapists in Lawrence, Kansas, and have two sons.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#100 in Books > Self-Help

#100 in Books > Self-Help

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rule #1, This Is Recommended for Marital Wisdom and Good Reminders January 17, 2012

By Bill Gallagher

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The timing of the arrival of this book was somewhat uncanny, as it arrived the day after my wife and I had had our first fight in quite a long while (in the past, there have been rough spots). During that fight, uncharacteristically, my wife was really anger with me and lost her temper, screaming and yelling and cursing; that night, she even slept in another room. The next morning my instinct was (fitting of Ms. Lerner observation that we tend toward fight or flight) to be frosty, but I reminded myself that won't change a downward spiral effect; so I tried to be pleasant, but that probably just got me to neutral. Then, a few pages in to Marriage Rules, Lerner wrote (quoting a friend and colleague): "It's just when your partner is being the biggest jerk that you're called upon to be your best self." Now, my wife wasn't really being a jerk (I could understand why she was disappointed in me, even if she was over-reacting [from my vantage point]. But it helped me reset my emotional thermostat and got me excited about Ms. Lerner's new book.

The excitement wasn't because of any big breakthroughs, but because the book offers timeless reminders delivered in an engaging way and illustrated with good vignettes. For example, in Rule #43 in the "Fight Fair" section, she tells about a San Francisco-based couple that fought viciously over just about everything. They seemed to have no control over their attacks on each other -- until a distinguished British professor stayed as a house guest for months, sleeping in the bedroom right next to theirs. Over those months, they were courteous with each other and agreed it was among the best months of their marriage. The point: you have more control than you think.

Not every rule or vignette moved me (for example, her story about communication about sex in Rule #55 seemed a bit too obvious), but the general message in that section "Forget About Normal Sex" is spot on and relieves pressure that can only make things worse in the bedroom. So overall, well recommended, especially if you're looking for a book to keep by your bedside and read a rule or two or few at a time -- and then share the book with your partner.

Other books on marriage to consider: Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, 20th Anniversary Edition (helpful for looking at the deep underlying patterns that cause disfunction) and The Couple's Survival Workbook: What You Can Do To Reconnect With Your Partner and Make Your Marriage Work (especially helpful if you're really struggling).

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Like a good marriage: gentle and strong, flexible and unyielding February 11, 2012

By J. C Clark VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I have been married for nearly 34 years. I want to be married at least another 34. I believe marriage is the second greatest gift God has given us, and I want to extract all the joy and beauty available from this special present. I treasure my marriage above all earthly possessions and relationships. I think I know a few things about how to make a marriage work. And yet, do my wife and I descend into stupid, completely preventable, fights? Sure do. Maybe this old dog can learn a few new tricks.

All the other positive reviews here do not require me to write at length. This book is worth reading. Studying. Sharing. There is much in here that it took my wife and me years to figure out; I wish I had read it (and implemented it) 33 years ago. But marriage is a path, not a destination, and the gentle yet consistent advice in here, with a few simple sample responses, is so effective and so adroit that it is hard to imagine anyone reading this who could not enhance his or her marriage. If you want your relationship to be one of the rocks upon which the rest of your life stands, read and savor the advice Dr. Lerner has to offer.

As she says, you don't need all 106 rules. But if you can learn one new thing that re-directs a destructive behavior or salves an exasperating wound, this would be time and money well spent.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun January 7, 2012

By Ellen Safier

Format:Hardcover

It is not often that a book filled with advice about marriage is this much fun. The chapters on various hot spots divided into short, pithy comments is so clever and wise that the ideas are easily understandable and actually possible to follow. The chapter on how we talk and listen is particularly inspired and, as in her other books, she helps us look at our own power and accountability and infuses her writing with humor and hope. Don't miss.