Customer Reviews

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I work in Family Practice and Urgent Care as a physician assistant and do most of the 'psych' in our clinic. My background is in counseling psychology as well. I consider this book the most thorough, useful and appropriate 'communications skills' self-help book I have ever read. I recommend it to my patients and friends constantly. Janee Gillette, PA-C

Evaluate all of your relationships, self and others from these three simple perspectives: (1) Turning Against--those who criticize; (2) Turning Away--those who do not engage directly; (3) Turning Toward--those who truly respond to you with empathy. Then start pruning away the dead wood!

Read this book and share it with your partner if you can. It is so spot-on about communication, I really wish everyone would read it! The basic premise is explaining how we relate to each other and what happens when we don't respond in a way that potentiates that relationship. It's easy to understand, a great read. I especially recommend it if you are in a relationship that is not going well and BOTH of you are looking for help in fixing it. Read it together. It will help you understand each other. (I only wish it wasn't called The Relationship Cure because it's really about Communication!)

John Gottman, one of the leading authorities on relationships has produced another fantastic book on this subject. In this book he explains the basic elements of "people skills". It gives us concrete ideas about what it takes and how we can develop them. He uses information from many of his own research projects to explain the concepts and processes involved to understand the ways we interact with each other. I must admit that although my relationships were not the best until recently, this book has helped me improve these relationships quite dramatically. If you'd like to read an even more comprehensive explanation on how relationships work, read "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is also an outstanding book on relationships as well as adult (and childhood) development. Two thumbs up for both books!!!

This is an outstanding book, especially the section on emotional styles within families (dismissive, coaching, etc.). If we learned this in school like we learn the alphabet, we'd be much farther along emotionally and relationally as a society. Read this book and absorb it; very useful.

This book has altered the course of my life. I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who would like to improve their relationships with their spouse, parents, siblings, children, bosses, coworkers, friends, or ANYONE. It teaches fundamentals about the human nature of communication, offering real-life examples to aid in understanding. Based on years of research, I think these guys are onto something amazing, and it has truly changed my life.

When one of my best friends confided to me that her husband had moved out and they were on the verge of divorce, I said, "Read this book together with him. It changed my life. Maybe it can help you, too." A few months later, she told me through tears that going through the process of reading this book together had changed their life too, and that now they were closer than ever. I ended up buying another copy to keep for myself.

For the preview- it breaks communication down to simple "bids" for connection, the way you could respond to them, and the outcomes of various types of responses. Apparently, we are a lot more predictable than we realize, and I have found the information to be tried and true in my life since I first read the hardcover edition when it first came out, happening upon it by accident in the bookstore.

I first learned of John Gottmah, PhD when I heard him speak in Seattle with H.H. the Dalai Lama earlier this year. The topic of the seminar was parenting, and I fell in love with his insights and simplistic approaches.

This is the first book of his I've read, and I loved it. I found it very profound, yet surprisingly simple.

Pros:
*I liked the explanation of 'the bid.' It's a basic theory, but it seems to be forgotten after a while in a relationship.
*I liked the chapter on 'emotional heritage.' The self evaluations are extremely helpful in taking a look at your past and how your family dynamics can come into play in your adult years.
*I liked how the information in this book can be applied to any type of relationship: romantic, friendship, family / sibling, and co-workers.

Cons:
*Some of the information seems like it should be common sense, but it also seems necessary for the author to state it clearly in this book because it seems to get lost in so many relationships,

This book seems like an undertaking when you first flip through it, but I found that it read very fluently and fairly quickly.

I would recommend it to everyone, especially those wanting to strengthen the love in their life.

Im not a big reader, but when I realized my marriage needed help I was willing to read every book I could get my hands on if it would help. Im just in the third chapter of this one but I can already see a difference in my communication with others and I cant wait to keep reading! What I really like about this book is the way it's written. It seems as though Mr Gottman writes as if he were speaking in converstation and adds a bit of humor as well. I am really enjoying this book! 4 stars just because im not done with it yet, but I think it will be a 5!

This book contains a lot of practical information about all types of relationships. It will help you to become more aware of how you function in relationships and why. Then, even more importantly, it gives you sound information on how to take this new awareness and use it to improve your significant relationships. This is one of the better relationship books I've ever read and I read a lot on relationships.

This book is so simple yet, so true. I like the fact that the content came out of real observations of people. The steps are clearly grounded in reality... not just theory about the way people behave.

The "bid" concept has made me much more aware about the way I interact with others. I'm more careful about the way I respond to other's bids. I plan on implementing all of the strategies I have learned from Gottman.