The Nine Phases of Marriage
How to Make It, Break It, Keep It
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the author of Toxic Friends-a groundbreaking look at how to understand your marriage and create a more satisfying relationship
Every marriage goes through nine phases. It is only by understanding the course our marriages run that we can truly begin to craft the perfect relationship. In The Nine Phases of Marriage, Susan Shapiro Barash breaks down and analyzes these phases, which are:
- Phase One: Passion and Longing
- Phase Two: Conforming: The Perfect Wife
- Phase Three: Real Life: Child Centricity
- Phase Four: Tension: One Bed: Two Dreams
- Phase Five: Distance: Two Beds: Two Rooms
- Phase Six: Fracturing: Midlife Divorce
- Phase Seven: Second Chances: Remarriage and Renegotiating
- Phase Eight: Balance: Concessions
- Phase Nine: Successful Coupling
With this essential knowledge, spouses can successfully navigate the natural pitfalls and perils of their marriages and embark on a true partnership.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Barash (Toxic Friends: The Antidote for Women Stuck in Complicated Friendships), a gender studies expert at Marymount Manhattan College, explores nine phases married women undergo (ranging from "passionate love" early on to a more practical "companionate love" later in life) and offers a prescription for successfully navigating such hurdles as home and child responsibilities, mothers-in-law, loss of shared goals, infidelity, with "Rx" at the end of each chapter. Testimonials from women (some of them composites) in each phase illustrate the differing viewpoints and ways in which women approach their marriages. While the testimonials liven up Barash's theories, the book falls short in a few ways. One, the author presupposes that these nine phases represent the true trajectory of marriage as a whole, while her supporting data is hardly conclusive. Second, the examples lack any demographic distinctions such as religion, race, or ethnicity, detracting from the author's credence. Finally, there are awkward juxtapositions of examples; e.g., the author puts real-life examples alongside movie and television scenarios, celebrities and other famous people, and examples in literature. Barash's observations may be spot-on, but the lack of cohesiveness and demographic details overshadow an otherwise well-researched topic in women's studies.
