7 Stages of Marriage: Laughter, Intimacy and Passion Today, Tomorrow, Forever (Hardcover)

~ Rita M. DeMaria (Author), Sari Harrar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Marriage therapist DeMaria and co-writer Harrar present a short guide to the seven stages of marriage-Passion, Realization, Rebellion, Cooperation, Reunion, Explosion and Completion-along with techniques for "feeling happy, secure and satisfied" in any of them. Told in an upbeat, family-friendly style, most information and advice are specific, practical and reinforced with simple exercises and humanizing anecdotes from Readers' Digest surveys. In the Realization chapter, Harrar and DeMaria urge readers to "understand your expectations" and those of their partner, a tricky proposition for which the authors provide a quick exercise and solid tips: "Be realistic about what you do ask for," "Use disappointment as a signal for unconscious expectations" and "Don't compare your spouse to other people's spouses." Unfortunately, some chapters devolve into vague suggestions that smack of filler: "Pull out the music you enjoyed together and dance in the dining room. Go canoeing. Play Scrabble. Wear your sexiest lingerie under a dress when you go out to dinner." This guide will make a helpful addition to a married couple's library, but it lacks the depth to help anyone more than moderately troubled.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762107251
• ISBN-13: 978-0762107254
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #111,162 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing short of amazing, February 8, 2007

By	S. D. Haltzman (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an extraordinary book. The authors have done a fantastic job of synthesizing material from research and thought leaders in the marriage movement and put it into a readable, encouraging and hopeful textbook that is chock full of useful information and exercises for improving your marriage.

In addition to descriptions of the 7 stages, the book either gives you ways to maintain the good (as in the first stage of passion) or getting through the not-so-good phase (as in the second stage when you wake up and realize that your marriage is not all magic all the time). You can't rush though this book though, since there's so much helpful information on each page. Nice stories, too, of couples who were interviewed for the project.

I'd recommend this book to couples who are either getting married, are married, or are considering divorce. It should be read many times over.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Seven Stages of Marriage, February 5, 2007

By	Thomas Forst (Pa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Seven Stages of Marriage is a book that could make a difference and should be shared. Shared with those:
* Planning Marriage
* Whose Marriage has Lost its Spark
* Planning to Remarry
* Facing an Empty Nest.
And Grandparents who want their children to have strong marriages.
I'm married over 27 years (Separated for 2) and the book has it all. And reference info to help anyone with any issue. I plan to buy copies for my kids, my brothers and sisters and staff.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, delightful, accurate, informative and much more, March 17, 2007

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very powerful book for anyone contemplating marriage or thinking about the marriage in which they find themselves. It is a forthwright look at what marriage means, what is really going to happen the various stages in which marriages go through. To name just two, the wedded bliss of the first few months or hopefully years is wonderful. But it's quite different than the child rearing years are taking your (and her) time, money, emotions and more.

Note that this is not a book for those who have already decided on a divorce. If one party to the marriage has already decided it is over, well it takes two to make a marriage, only one to break it apart. As the book says, it is not a relationship repair book, it's a book that will instead tell you about relationships and how they change over time.

There's a neat quiz to tell you what stage your relationship is in. I've just got to mention the first question and one of it's four answers:

'If our rlationship were an object, it would be a:'

And answer d is:

'video game - push the button, a new battle starts.'