By John Gottman PhD
What can you do about the attitudes and actions that doom a marriage? Plenty, says Dr. Gottman, and this book provides the practical exercises, quizzes, tips, and techniques to help you turn those negative factors around. Detailing the pitfalls of his famous "Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse" - contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and stonewalling - he also helps you determine what kind of marriage "style" you have, where your strengths and weaknesses are, and how avoid the patterns that lead to divorce.
The result of his work with thousands of couples, the research in this book has enabled Dr. Gottman to predict with 94 percent accuracy which couples will stay married and which will divorce. You'll also learn that
- More sex doesn't necessarily improve a marriage
- Frequent arguing doesn't have to lead to divorce
- Financial problems do not always spell trouble in a relationship
- Wives who make sour facial expressions when their husbands talk are likely to be separated within four years
- There is a reason husbands withdraw from arguments - and there's a way around it