Parenting Marriage

Relationships are usually the most important part of a person’s life. But they’re often stressful and frustrating, or simply awkward, distant, and lonely. We feel the weight of things unsaid, needs unmet, conflicts unresolved. It’s easy to feel stuck.

In the 20th anniversary edition of this Gold Medallion Award winner, Mike Mason goes on a poetic search to understand the wondrous dynamics of committed love. In highly listenable, first-person style, Mason’s writing stimulates listeners’ thoughts and prayers and propels couples to deeper intimacy.

Journalist Lauren Sandler is an only child and the mother of one. After investigating what only children are really like and whether stopping at one child is an answer to reconciling motherhood and modernity, she learned a lot about herself - and a lot about our culture's assumptions. In this heartfelt work, Sandler legitimizes a discussion about the larger societal costs of having more than one.

Many of the clients who end up in our respective therapist offices thought they were doing relationships right—avoiding the white picket fence, focusing on careers and experiences over babies and legally-binding documents, choosing someone after they “found themselves” first. However, like clockwork, around their early to mid-thirties, these clients show up at our door. Why? For the first time, they realize that they dislike their relationship and are frustrated by their partner but know that another break-up won’t fix things.

Like millions of women, Laura Doyle wanted her marriage to be better. But when she tried to get her husband to be more romantic, helpful, and ambitious, he withdrew - and she was lonely and exhausted from controlling everything. Desperate to be in love with her man again, she decided to stop telling him what to do and how to do it. When Doyle surrendered control, something magical happened...

Time after time, His Needs, Her Needs has topped the charts as the bestselling marriage book available. In this classic book, Willard F. Harley, Jr., identifies the ten most vital needs of men and women and shows husbands and wives how to make their marriage sizzle by satisfying those needs in their spouses.

A quick-and-dirty guide to fixing your marriage, 9 Steps to Heal Your Resentment and Reboot Your Marriage is packed with simple, effective tools that really work. See why hundreds of thousands of people have joined Pajevic’s Reboot This Marriage movement.

Why do we fight most with those we love best? Australian relationship therapist Lissy Abrahams has spent years exploring this question, both in her treatment room helping clients and through extensive research. She knows that long-term conflict leaves us drained, anxious and worried for the emotional wellbeing of our families, but says it is neither intractable or inevitable. Conflict is caused by unconscious patterns of thinking and behaviour - unresolved feelings of fear, instability or pain - that can be consciously rewired for a healthier, happier relationship.

In this revised and expanded edition of his best-selling book, well-known Bible teacher Derek Prince and his wife, Ruth, reveal God's true plan for you and your future spouse. In addition to sharing their own real-life love story, Derek lays out seven biblical steps to finding your mate.

Authors Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker believe that every man can meet the secret desires of his wife. The problem is, most of us aren't exactly sure what that desire is and how we can go about fulfilling it faithfully. In Every Man's Marriage, you can discover the common misconceptions about what it means to exercise biblical authority and understand the role of submission in the marriage relationship.

At last, the full story behind Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman's epic romance, including stories, portraits, and the occasional puzzle. How did they do it? They came from completely different families, endured a significant age difference, and were separated by the gulf of several social strata. Megan loved books and art history; Nick loved hammers. But much more than these seemingly unsurpassable obstacles were the values they held in common: respect, decency, the ability to mention genitalia in almost any context, and an abiding obsession with the songs of Tom Waits.

Most men are clueless around how to do intimate relationships well. Most women don’t know much better. That was Bryan’s story for decades. At 36, in the midst of yet another agonizing breakup, Bryan had a painful epiphany: he had no idea what women wanted from him and no idea what he actually wanted from a woman, either. Despite earning a Masters Degree in Human Relations and succeeding professionally as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, no one had ever taught him the essential skills for creating fulfilling intimacy that endures.

Relationship expert and noted couples counselor Norm Wright steers potential brides and grooms through a series of soul-searching questions to discern if they've really met "the one". Couples will be much more confident about whether or not to pursue marriage after completing these in-depth and personal questions. Norm also addresses the delicate subject of calling off the wedding if listeners discover that a potential mate isn't actually meant to be a life partner.

The message of Created for Connection is simple: Forget about learning how to argue better, analyzing your early childhood, or making grand romantic gestures. Instead, get to the emotional underpinnings of your relationship by recognizing that you are attached to and dependent on your partner in much the same way that a child is on a parent and we are on the Heavenly Father for nurturing, soothing, and protection.

In her classic book, Elisabeth Elliot candidly shares her love story with Jim Elliot through letters, diary entries, and memories. She is honest about the temptations, difficulties, victories, and sacrifices of two young people whose commitment to Christ took priority over their love for each other. These revealing personal glimpses, combined with relevant biblical teaching, will remind listners that only by putting their human passion and desire through His fire can God purify their love.

Open Monogamy is Dr. Nelson's guidebook for couples who wish to explore new directions in their relationships - to bring in excitement, variety, and fresh experiences without sacrificing trust, security, and respect. In this practical, skill-based book, she helps you find your place on the "monogamy continuum"; have honest conversations about attraction and desire; remove shame and suspicion from an open relationship; and create agreements - traditional or otherwise - that are fulfilling, exhilarating, and built for enduring love.

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.

Is your marriage worth fighting for? If so, this audiobook is for you. It takes a tremendous amount of strength to overcome skepticism and weariness, and begin the work of healing a broken marriage. But just taking a look at this audiobook shows you have the heart of a fighter. In One More Try, Gary Chapman gives you the courage and confidence to move forward when your marriage is falling apart.

In 1994, Dr. John Gottman and his colleagues at the University of Washington made a startling announcement: Through scientific observation and mathematical analysis, they could predict, with more than 90 percent accuracy, whether a marriage would succeed or fail. The only thing they did not yet know was how to turn a failing marriage into a successful one, so Gottman teamed up with his clinical psychologist wife, Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, to develop intervention methods.

Women want to be in love, get married, and live happily ever after. Yet disrespect for men and disregard for the value, feelings, and needs of husbands has fast become the standard for male-female relations in America. Those two attitudes clash in unfortunate ways to create struggle and strife in what could be a beautiful relationship.