Loving for Life: Your Self-Help Guide to a Successful, Intimate Relationship

Linda Perry is a senior policy analyst at the Ontario Ministry of
Colleges and Universities.

This is a workbook about male-female relationships in the “pop
psych” genre. It divides the topic into such aspects as stages of
intimacy, communication conflict and anger, sex, and counselling.

The book adopts three basic approaches: an analysis of the particular
topic; exercises or guided images to plumb personal attitudes and derive
new solutions; and dialogues between typical partners (first the
dysfunctional and then the model interaction). While some dialogues
appear contrived, the exercises are challenging.

It is written by counsellors, with a faith in the efficacy,
availability, and affordability of therapy. There may be a
mainstream-culture bias, with assumptions about self-disclosure, gender
roles, and other social norms. The focus is on the relationship, with
little digression about the roles that children or others can play in
the whole family, of which the couple is only a part.

The joint authorship of a married couple provides both a male and
female perspective. The book can be shared by both partners in a
relationship—in fact, many of the exercises require this dual
participation.