About the Author
Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., a clinical pastoral counselor and co-creator of Imago Relationship Therapy, has more than thirty-five years’ experience as an educator, public lecturer, and couples’ therapist.
Synopsis
Change the relationship you have into the one you want.
Welcome to the Relationship Revolution! Making Marriage Simple is the accessible, essential road map to building a strong marriage in the modern world. Bestselling authors Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt distill into ten essential truths what they’ve learned about how to create a successful and satisfying relationship—both from their decades of “R&D” in the marriage lab of their workshops, and from their own relationship journey. In each chapter, Harville and Helen introduce a simple truth—such as “a frustration is a wish in disguise,” “incompatibility is grounds for marriage,” or “conflict is growth trying to happen”—and then walk couples through easy yet effective exercises to help them apply each truth in real life, every day.
Harville and Helen have spent their careers helping couples transform their marriages through research, workshops, and counseling. But marriage—even for marriage experts—is never easy, and a number of years ago they found themselves on the brink of divorce. Harville and Helen put themselves back through the exercises they’d coached so many other couples through, saving their marriage and helping them achieve a true partnership.
This book is for all couples. It offers the practical tools needed to transform one’s relationship into a rewarding and joyous marriage. Written with humor, compassion, and honesty, and illustrated throughout with engaging line drawings, Making Marriage Simple is a strategic blueprint for creating a stronger, more satisfying partnership in today’s world.
Review
By Christine Boles
Turtle vs Hailstorm
Great book for all couples-both married and in a serious relationship!
Marriages and any relationships are hard in this day and time. We are bombarded by talk shows, shelf-help books, and all the latest ways to do a “quick fix” of our problems. But, the true way to fix your problems is for both partners to work towards a goal of repairing a problem or bringing back the spark to a relationship. “Making Marriage Simple” helps you do that and so much more in a different kind of way. There are the usual worksheets and activities for both people to work through and you have to have an open mind when reading this book.
I truly never thought I would hear my side of the relationship related to a turtle and my fiance described as a hailstorm, but if the shoe fits–wear it! After reading past the first description of the turtle verses the hailstorm, it not only gave us a good laugh but made perfect sense to us both. The turtles in relationships need their space, freedom, and they need things to stay on the steady path, but in times of high tensions they are the calmer of the two. The hailstorm, on the other hand, are the ones the energy flows from on an extreme level. They are the energetic ones who live in the moment and are usually the ones with the reactive personality.
So how does all this description help you? According to authors Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt, the reader needs to understand that some of the best relationships can come from those turtle and hailstorm people because opposites and incompatibility really can make for a great and lasting relationship. Even though the book does go about helping you solve your problems and help you to make a stronger marriage in a different way, it is well worth the money to enjoy a good read and get a good laugh at the same time. I would recommend the book to many people who need a different prospective on their relationship.