The Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy (The Seven Days Series)

This book has seven main sections, structured so that each section gives you one task to focus on each day for a week. So, Day 1 is “Make Contact”, Day 2 is “Ask a Big Question”, and so on. There are a total of about 158 pages, followed by a “Small Things Journal” at the end, where you are supposed to jot down a few changes that you make over the course of the week.In the Introduction, the authors stress that one of the most important concepts in maintaining a healthy relationship is to focus on the little things, done often. They contend that big, grandiose gestures that happen infrequently are not as important as paying attention and making more frequent smaller efforts to foster connections.For each Day, the authors explain what you should work on, and give specific examples of how those interactions might go. Sometimes they will also use experiences that their patients have shared to illustrate their points. At the end of each section there are Practice, Extra Credit, and Troubleshooting sections, with more specific exercises to try, and advice about how to overcome potential issues. After the last day there is a Conclusion section that wraps everything up, and gives you a few tips for how to sustain these efforts.Overall, I liked this book, and thought it was full of useful advice. When you have two research scientists that have been studying relationships for any decades, it is easier to trust their advice over your average therapist. I hope this book can help to bring many people closer together!

This is the first Gottman book I read. It's like reading a book from a series out of order. They assume you know the lingo from previous books. I expected more from the book as the husband is touted as a researcher and clinician. What I got was an updated he's from Mars, She's from Venus deal. I see they provide easy to follow stories of couples applying their methods by example. This works to an extent with broad generalization. Almost like a common sense fortune teller who has read about attachment science. Most of it sounds reasonable and helpful for putting the joie de vivre back in a couple's relationship. Show appreciation, take a break from criticism, set aside time no matter what for date night.There are moments where it also rises above the usual diy self-help. Where the authors talk about how vital and necessary the spirit of fun, imagination and play are to your relationship and intimacy. That being a grown up isn't just about keeping lists as responsible adults. That rather it's also our responsibility to be loving and fun so we keep falling in love with each other. In other words, yes, bring back romance. I appreciate as well the importance of discussing touch between partners that is not just sexual and respecting boundaries. And how to enliven through affection and sensuality that doesn't always need to be about sex, but can be snuggles, a hug, or even a reassuring hand hold or other touch. They discuss partners who are feeling mismatched due to cultural background and etc when it comes to affection and reserve.However, my major drawback was when they insisted that partners who have different affection levels simply accept this. And they compared it to one partner wanting to look the other in the eyes. But one partner has sensitive eyes to the light, so needs to wear sunglasses. This was too much for me. I have eyes sensitive to light. You can believe I will move so we aren't in the sun. And I have found, as a nearly 50 yo woman that it's like a death sentence for people married to those less affectionate. Find out before you commit, especially before marriage. Because it's really a kind of partner neglect eventually, the more affectionate partner is deprived in detrimental ways. I think it's a terrible pairing and you should get out of it now if you're in it instead of thinking you need to honor a commitment the other person can't fulfill either. Be honest and authentic with yourself, or sentence yourself to misery for a lifetime. Your choice.

If you’re struggling in a love relationship, this is a MUST read. Highly recommend.

I’m confident that the content will be worth it but reading glasses are a must for the tiny print!

Great book for couple continuous improvement

Amazing book written by an amazing scientists/psychologists

This is a book good for anyone who is struggling with their relationship or who thinks things are fine, but want to keep it that way.It is a great book to read out loud with your partner and then do the helpful suggestions on a regular basis.Thank you for reading this and considering this wonderful book.

It was exactly the pieces I needed to strengthen my marriage.If you desire to be better friends with your significant other and can be applied to other close relationships