Marriage Development

After twelve years of marriage, twenty years together, and four kids, Devale and Khadeen Ellis have been through a lot. They’ve loved their way through a long-distance relationship, financial instability, parenthood, Khadeen’s near-death, and their near-divorce, chronicling their day-to-day life with their boys online. After much trial and error, they hit upon one surprising, essential truth: If you’re looking for a healthy relationship and a fulfilling life, focus on your partner’s needs instead of your wants.

Nearly every marriage starts out happy, and if we're honest, nearly every marriage at some point becomes unhappy. Is there a solution? Kevin and Marcia Myers, married for 37 years through nearly every challenge a couple can face, emphatically say yes. Rooted in Scripture and contemporary insights from the Myers' marriage, as well as real stories from other couples, this revelatory book shows how any marriage can regain depth, meaning and, yes, happiness.

Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. But almost none have thought to ask: What are the effects of children on their parents? In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior tries to tackle this question, isolating and analyzing the many ways in which children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear.

It can sometimes seem a mystery why some couples stay together and thrive—while many more split up or drag on scratchily. While we might think happy love is left to chance, there are some identifiable secrets that underpin good relationships that we can learn and put into practice. The first title of a new series, The Secrets of Successful Relationships draws upon the expertise of The School of Life therapists to teach us the key ingredients of contented love.

Why does communication between couples remain the number one marriage issue? "Because," says Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, "most spouses don’t know that they speak two different languages. They are sending each other messages in 'code,' but they won’t crack that code until they see that she listens to hear the language of love and he listens to hear the language of respect."

Therapist Beverly Berg offers powerful tools for the partners of recovering addicts. Based in mindfulness, attachment theory, and neurobiology, this book will help listeners sustain emotional stability in their relationships, increase effective communication, establish boundaries, and take real steps toward reigniting intimacy. With more than 25 years in the field, she has developed a unique set of exercises that address the issues faced by couples in recovery.

Nothing destroys trust like sexual betrayal. Beyond broken vows, a woman who discovers that her husband has been viewing pornography or having an affair must deal with devastating blows to her self-image and self-worth. She must grapple with the fact that the man she thought she knew has lied and deceived her. She may even bear the brunt of shame and judgment when the people around her find out.

During times of betrayal, when we most need support, sometimes the ones we would turn to first are the betrayers. Other times, we’re saddled with shame and fear. But it’s during these times that we need to learn to trust again. This book offers support, comfort, and community to those struggling with feelings associated with betrayal and guides them to healing from painful experiences of it. Listeners will learn about and move through five stages from betrayal to breakthrough and will be lovingly guided with tools and strategies along the way.

The wedding is planned, but are you spiritually prepared for your wedding day? Trusted relationship author Gary Thomas coaches engaged couples on how to grow closer to the Lord in the days leading up to the wedding as a means of preparing them for all the days after the wedding. Providing encouraging entries that will help you deal with common issues such as what real intimacy means, how to celebrate your differences, and remembering to laugh together, Preparing Your Heart for Marriage will help you grow in your relationship as a couple as you become closer to God.

Mark and Giulia's life together began as a storybook romance. They fell in love at 18, married at 24, and were living their dream life in San Francisco. When Giulia was 27, she suffered a terrifying and unexpected psychotic break that landed her in the psych ward for nearly a month. One day she was vibrant and well adjusted; the next she was delusional and suicidal, convinced that her loved ones were not safe.

A new and updated edition of the all-time bestselling book on marriage enhancement and divorce prevention. Since it was first published in 1994, Fighting for Your Marriage has been the bestselling book in its field. As in the original edition, the book offers invaluable advice on achieving better communication and problem-solving skills, using structured techniques to resolve conflicts, sharing a core belief system, understanding commitment and forgiveness, restoring intimacy, and more.

It might sound weird, but conflicts are a normal, common occurrence. Even if you are not a type of person that often engages in conflict, you simply can’t avoid it. This audiobook will help you understand different types of conflict and how to emerge as a winner without disrupting your internal peace. This guide will help you control your emotions, put a leash on your impulsive reactions and teach you how to resolve conflict in a calm, peaceful way, whether in the workplace, in your marriage, or with family and friends.

Myles Munroe, Bahamian pastor, teacher, and evangelist, examines the states of singleness, marriage, separation, and divorce, providing insights to minister to everyone, regardless of which situation they are in.

Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one" but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of perfection but a mutually flawed pursuit of Christ.

Now several years post-divorce, relationship expert and humorist Mark Miller has experienced more than 500 first dates. In 500 Dates, composed of 55 humor essays, Miller features the highlights and lowlights of those dates.

Your feminine majesty has the power to heal almost everything in your entire life–and this book will teach you how. When you heal your feminine energy, everything else in your life falls into place.

As a childfree woman, Dr. Amy Blackstone is no stranger to a wide range of negative responses when she informs people she doesn't have - nor does she want - kids: confused looks, patronizing quips, thinly veiled pity, even outright scorn and condemnation. But she is not alone in opting out when it comes to children. More people than ever are choosing to forgo parenthood, and openly discussing a choice that's still often perceived as taboo. Yet this choice, and its effects personally and culturally, are still often misunderstood.

This groundbreaking audiobook from the best-selling authors of Getting the Love You Want and co-authors of Giving the Love that Heals is the first to address the biggest unexplored issue facing couples today: Most of us are better at giving love than accepting it.

Quantum Love is the best possible experience of love, and it's available to absolutely everyone, whether you're seeking a mate, in a relationship that's struggling, or just finding that love has turned lackluster through the stresses of life. You can't go back to the honeymoon phase, but there is something so much better within your reach. Quantum Love lets you reach new heights of intimacy as you gain a fuller sense of purpose in life and love.

A damaged man is incapable of love because he does not believe love will be freely given, only earned through works. He seeks false intimacy in lust and mistakes sex for acceptance. These men seek insecure women who believe themselves unlovable and who use sex to earn approval. When these couples enter into marriage, unmet needs and secret expectations pile up until the relationship is full of festering resentment. Along come children who add greater urgency to fixing the emotional damage. But with no hope in sight, what can the couples do except march toward inevitable divorce?