The almost perfect Marriage: one-minute Relationship Skills

161 Pages·2007·2.68 MB·English

by  Stephanie Dowrick

S FROM ThE bEST-SELLING AuThOR
T
OF ChOOSING hAPPINESS
E
P
h
There is no greater treasure
A
N
on earth than a deeply shared
I
E
experience of love.
D
O
In this wise and beautiful book, Stephanie Dowrick w
gently and confidently leads readers towards the R
I
attitudes and actions that will best support a genuinely C
loving intimate relationship – even with the extreme k
demands of contemporary life.
Practical and inspirational, this book is as much
t
for people in longstanding relationships as it is for h
e
complete newcomers.
a
l
m
o
It’s not age, sexuality, wealth, s
t
-
religion or culture that will determine p
e
the success of your relationship. rf
e
It is your willingness to c
t

discover what love truly means. m
a
r
r
i
a
g
e
Cover design: Cheryl Collins Design one-minute
Cover image: Getty Images
relationship skills
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephanie Dowrick has written successfully about
intimate relationships for many years. Her much-
loved international bestsellers include Intimacy
& Solitude, Forgiveness & Other Acts of Love, The
Universal Heart and Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul
Essentials. She previously combined her writing
life with a private psychotherapy practice and
remains a great optimist about love and our power
to make the small changes that bring big results.
She has been writing the ‘Inner Life’ column for
Good Weekend magazine since 2001 and is a regular
guest on ABC radio. She gives talks, workshops
and retreats nationally and internationally, lives in
Sydney and is the mother of a son and daughter.
‘Intelligent, eloquent and wise’ Metro
www.stephaniedowrick.com
ALSO By STEpHAnIE DOwRICk
Non-fiction
Creative Journal writing
Choosing Happiness
Free Thinking
The Universal Heart
Every Day a new Beginning
Daily Acts of Love
Forgiveness & Other Acts of Love
The Intimacy & Solitude Self-Therapy Book
Intimacy & Solitude
Fiction
Running Backwards over Sand
Tasting Salt
Spoken Word
Intimacy & Solitude
Living with Change
The Humane Virtues
The Art of Acceptance
The Universal Heart
Guided Meditations: Grace & Courage
Self-Love

First published in 2007
Copyright © wise Angels pty Ltd 2007
All rights reserved. no part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian
Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one
chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater,
to be photocopied by any educational institution for its
educational purposes provided that the educational institution
(or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice
to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows nest nSw 2065
Australia
phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
web: www.allenandunwin.com
national Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-publication entry:
Dowrick, Stephanie.
The almost perfect marriage.
ISBn 9781741751352.
1. Interpersonal relations. 2. Love.
3. Marriage. I. Title.
158.2
Cover and text designed by Cheryl Collins Design
Typeset by Blue Rinse Setting
Author photograph by Monty Coles
printed in Australia by Mcpherson’s printing Group
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For
Gabriel & Aokie
and
kezia & Sean
with all my love
The Almost-perfect Marriage
1
An almost-perfect commitment of
love is perfect.
The moments you might not have
chosen, the habits you’ve only
just discovered, the differences in
opinion and experience – these all
add depth to your relationship.
The wonderful moments are
precious too. And they can be
increased.
What counts most though is saying
‘Yes!’ to it all, loving and accepting
your partner wholeheartedly, and
allowing yourself to be loved and
accepted also.
The Almost-perfect Marriage
1
Love is completely
natural.
It’s the skills that bring
love to life that often
need to be polished
or learned.
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2 33
you have the power
to lift your partner’s
spirits or to dash them.
Take this power seriously.
The choices you make
will profoundly affect
your partner, your
relationship – and
yourself.
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2 33