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Therapeutic exercises to help couples nurture patience, forgiveness, and humor.
Love is not just an emotion - it's a skill. And just like any other skill, we need to practice in order to get good at it.
We often have fairy tale expectations for our romantic relationships, but realistically, after a heady and passion-fueled start, we end up in partnerships that are a confusing tangle of hope, distance, boredom, loyalty, and betrayal.
Full of accessible and though-provoking exercises, this workbook fosters understanding, patience, forgiveness, humor, and resilience in the face of the many hurdles that invariably arise in a long term relationship.
Couples are guided to have particular conversations, analyze their feelings, explain parts of themselves to one another, and undertake rituals that clear the air and help recover hope and passion. The goal is always to unblock channels of feeling and improve communication - and to have fun while doing it.
No one can be intuitively good at relationships. We all need to do some homework to become the best partners and couples we can be.
- A GUIDED JOURNAL WITH OVER 60 EXERCISES to encourage couples to share their feelings with each other and open up about their insecurities.
- A THERAPEUTIC WORKBOOK drawing from research from The School of Life’s therapy department.
- INCLUDES INTERACTIVE SPACES to complete the activities and illustrations throughout.
- BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED hardcover in high end gift format.
"Amazing, interactive, insightful and overall helpful."
"My fiancé and I loved doing this workbook. Some of the sections of the workbook didn't necessarily fit our lifestyle/needs as a couple, but it was still fun to go through those chapters and see what we could do if any issues arose in the future. We recommend it to every couple. No matter age or relationship length. My fiancé's parents (married for 20+ years) are doing it now, and already have found it helpful for their relationship."
"Whether you’re in a long-term relationship or still seeking the love of your life, this book will help bridge the understanding gap and improve your love life!" – Medium review
The School of Life is a global organization helping people lead more fulfilled lives. Through our range of books, gifts and stationery we aim to prompt more thoughtful natures and help everyone to find fulfillment.
The School of Life is a resource for exploring self-knowledge, relationships, work, socializing, finding calm, and enjoying culture through content, community, and conversation. You can find us online, in stores and in welcoming spaces around the world offering classes, events, and one-to-one therapy sessions.
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The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of the School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton. Their books share a coherent, curated message that speaks with one voice: calm, reassuring, and sane.
Introduction
The Pledge
1. The Scale of the Ambition
2. The Dangerous Quest for Compatibility
3. The True Romance of Pessimism
4. Why on Earth am I With This Person?
5. What We Should Learn From One Another
6. The Secret Lives of Other Couples
7. Continuing the Conversation
8. Overcoming Our Parents
9. A Trust Checkup
10. How We See Ourselves – and How Our Partner Sees Us
11. The Little Things
12. How We Like to be Loved
13. Early Wounds
14. A New Ritual: The Morning and Evening Kiss
15. Unconscious Belittling
16. The Anxious-Avoidant Quiz
17. Projecting Emotions
18. Indirect Communication
19. A Better Kind of Evening
20. How I am Difficult to Live With
21. A Forgiveness Ritual
22. A Gratitude Ritual
23. Our Conspiracy
24. Admiration
25. The Weakness of Strength
26. Hidden Efforts
27. Undelivered Compliments
28. How to Complain
29. A Pessimistic Interlude
30. How to Argue
31. Concrete Change
32. Change is Possible
33. Be the Change You Want to See
34. Five Questions to Ask of Bad Behaviour
35. Talking About Sex
36. The Sensate Focus Method
37. Accepting the Problems
38. Less Pressure on Love
Conclusion