How To Create Better Relationships: 6 Surprising Lessons From 30 Years Of Marriage

Whether you're a man seeking to understand your partner better or a woman wanting to provide your partner with a resource for understanding you, The Man's Guide to Women is a practical guide to navigate the complexities of female psychology. Renowned relationship experts John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, together with Doug Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams, employ scientific research, real-life examples, and years of clinical experience to demystify the intricacies of women's inner world.

From dating to sex to marriage, this guide equips men with the tools to initiate, build, and sustain a successful and mutually fulfilling relationship. We’ll supplement the authors’ advice with a range of perspectives on psychology, gender, love, and marriage from authors like Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity), Ian Kerner (She Comes First), and Rollo Tomassi (The Rational Male).

Western culture is steeped in individualism, the worldview that encourages you to pursue individual happiness and prizes personal freedom as the highest societal good. But, according to cultural commentator David Brooks, this individualist worldview breeds selfishness and deprives your life of greater meaning. Consequently, he argues that you should embrace relationalism—the worldview that prioritizes selflessness and service to others—to lead a deeply fulfilling life.

In his 2019 book, The Second Mountain, Brooks details his own experiences to explain why the relationalist approach to life is more satisfying than its individualist counterpart. Along the way, he outlines the four commitments that are crucial to relationalism—your vocation, marriage, community, and belief system—and provides actionable steps to making these commitments.

In this guide, we’ll discuss Brooks’s distinction between individualism and relationalism, followed by a foray into the four commitments that constitute relationalist living. Throughout the guide, we’ll also discuss additional strategies for making Brooks’s commitments and examine counterarguments about the importance of these commitments.

Romantic comedies always seem to end when the relationship begins, but what happens after?

While there's no guarantee of happily ever after, the authors of Eight Dates argue that there's a secret to a healthy, long-lasting relationship—make time for your partner and stay curious. Eight Dates is a resource for building a stronger relationship with your partner by committing to learning about who they are and who they're becoming, starting with eight powerful dates.

The book is a collaborative effort by two married couples: John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, who founded a research institute focused on building strong relationships and preventing divorce, and authors Doug Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams.

In this guide, we’ll explain why weekly dates are important for sustaining a strong relationship and provide a roadmap for eight dates you can go on with your partner. We’ll supplement the authors’ recommendations with advice from other relationship experts, including Amir Levine and Rachel Heller (Attached), Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity), and Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages).

Is there a research-backed way to make love last? In The Love Prescription, relationship researchers Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman argue that long-lasting love is sustained by small, daily acts. They explain that regularly practicing behaviors such as expressing gratitude for your partner and being honest about your needs make all the difference for long-term love.

In this guide, we’ll explain why small acts sustain healthy relationships and discuss how to implement the most crucial habits in your romantic life. You’ll learn how to express gratitude for your partner’s admirable actions, ask deep questions to stay connected with them, and make time for date night no matter what. We’ll also compare the Gottmans’ approach to the ideas of other relationship and communication experts, including Mark Goulston (Just Listen) and Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages).

Whether you're a man seeking to understand your partner better or a woman wanting to provide your partner with a resource for understanding you, The Man's Guide to Women is a practical guide to navigate the complexities of female psychology. Renowned relationship experts John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, together with Doug Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams, employ scientific research, real-life examples, and years of clinical experience to demystify the intricacies of women's inner world.

From dating to sex to marriage, this guide equips men with the tools to initiate, build, and sustain a successful and mutually fulfilling relationship. We’ll supplement the authors’ advice with a range of perspectives on psychology, gender, love, and marriage from authors like Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity), Ian Kerner (She Comes First), and Rollo Tomassi (The Rational Male).

Romantic comedies always seem to end when the relationship begins, but what happens after?

While there's no guarantee of happily ever after, the authors of Eight Dates argue that there's a secret to a healthy, long-lasting relationship—make time for your partner and stay curious. Eight Dates is a resource for building a stronger relationship with your partner by committing to learning about who they are and who they're becoming, starting with eight powerful dates.

The book is a collaborative effort by two married couples: John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, who founded a research institute focused on building strong relationships and preventing divorce, and authors Doug Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams.

In this guide, we’ll explain why weekly dates are important for sustaining a strong relationship and provide a roadmap for eight dates you can go on with your partner. We’ll supplement the authors’ recommendations with advice from other relationship experts, including Amir Levine and Rachel Heller (Attached), Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity), and Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages).

What’s the secret to a happy marriage? That’s the question relationship researcher John Gottman (along with co-author Nan Silver) answers in The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work—a step-by-step blueprint to cultivating a happier, emotionally fulfilling marriage. Gottman’s expertise stems from his research at the Love Lab, a laboratory at the University of Washington in Seattle devoted to deciphering the secrets of happy couples.

In this guide, we’ll explain why becoming genuine friends with your spouse is essential to your marital happiness and how you can improve your marital friendship by following four principles. Then, we’ll describe how fighting can increase your risk of divorce—and which relationship behaviors Gottman relies on to predict divorce with 91% accuracy. We’ll also share Gottman’s three principles for learning to handle conflict effectively. Along the way, we’ll compare Gottman’s advice to that of other relationship experts and share further strategies to implement Gottman’s suggestions.

Is there a research-backed way to make love last? In The Love Prescription, relationship researchers Julie Schwartz Gottman and John Gottman argue that long-lasting love is sustained by small, daily acts. They explain that regularly practicing behaviors such as expressing gratitude for your partner and being honest about your needs make all the difference for long-term love.

In this guide, we’ll explain why small acts sustain healthy relationships and discuss how to implement the most crucial habits in your romantic life. You’ll learn how to express gratitude for your partner’s admirable actions, ask deep questions to stay connected with them, and make time for date night no matter what. We’ll also compare the Gottmans’ approach to the ideas of other relationship and communication experts, including Mark Goulston (Just Listen) and Gary Chapman (The 5 Love Languages).

Whether you're a man seeking to understand your partner better or a woman wanting to provide your partner with a resource for understanding you, The Man's Guide to Women is a practical guide to navigate the complexities of female psychology. Renowned relationship experts John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, together with Doug Abrams and Rachel Carlton Abrams, employ scientific research, real-life examples, and years of clinical experience to demystify the intricacies of women's inner world.

From dating to sex to marriage, this guide equips men with the tools to initiate, build, and sustain a successful and mutually fulfilling relationship. We’ll supplement the authors’ advice with a range of perspectives on psychology, gender, love, and marriage from authors like Esther Perel (Mating in Captivity), Ian Kerner (She Comes First), and Rollo Tomassi (The Rational Male).