All-in-One Marriage Prep

this is an incredible book! personally, i have been married for 34 years and have helped hundreds of couples as a mars venus success coach and a prepare-enrich mentor for over 12 years. i can tell you that this book is destined to become the marriage preparation manual. so many great experts have graciously shared their collective wisdom on how couples can best get along, keep love sizzling, minimize conflict, adjust their expectations, and realize their own personal growth within the realm of relationship. ah, now if we can only get copies to every high school and college student in the world! and wouldn’t it be great to see this gem of a book as a major motion picture? magnificent job, susanne, what a fabulous idea this is!

Melodie Tucker, Mars Venus Success Coach, Prepare-Enrich Mentor and ProConnect Specialist; www.tinyurl.com/melodietucker

what a treasure! to put all this wisdom and years of research into a practical yet powerful book takes someone with susanne alexander’s talent and heart! as a reader, rest assured you have the latest and greatest information to create the relationship you long for!

Pat Love, Ed.D., author of The Truth About Love and How to Improve Your Relationship Without Talking About It; www.patlove.com

this book contains wisdom from many sources, some of it serious, some amusing, all of it valuable and useful to couples preparing for marriage. it is like getting advice from a lot of experienced, knowledgeable counselors, all in one place. it would be valuable to any couple who wants to know what it will take to create and sustain a lasting marriage.

Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D., aka “Dr. Romance” http://drromance.typepad.com/dr_romance_blog/; psychotherapist and author of Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting about the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage; www.tinatessina.com

if we could give engaged and newlywed couples just one gift that would help ensure their success, it wouldn’t be a toaster. it would be information about what to expec talong their journey. we humans can do just about anything—climb mt. everest, walk on the moon, breast-feed twins—if we just know what to expect. this book delivers. it’s filled with loving advice about what to expect in a normal marriage (or remarriage) plus offers heartfelt and helpful wisdom about how to handle the challenges that come with each stage, each milestone. it’s a wedding gift that will keep on giving.

Diane Sollee, Founder and Director of www.SmartMarriages.com

from the moment we began reading this book, my partner and i started talking. we were both initially a little hesitant to jump into a marriage preparation book, partly because both of us had been previously engaged and the preparation process had not worked out well. but instead of feeling awkward reading it together, it helped us realize the strength and the depth in our relationship, affirmed that we were follo...

Susanne M. Alexander is a Relationship and Marriage Educator, author, coach, and publisher with Marriage Transformation, www.marriagetransformation.com. She is certified to offer couple's assessments through Prepare-Enrich and for individuals with the Character Foundations Assessment, meeting with clients globally via the internet for relationship and marriage preparation and marriage strengthening. Susanne is passionate about helping individuals and couples make good relationship and marriage choices through knowledge and skill-building and thereby preventing divorces. Susanne has been single, dating, engaged, married, divorced, and widowed. She is a child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, and grandparent. All of this has given Susanne a diversity of experience to share! She is originally from Canada and is married to a wonderful man in Tennessee, in the United States.

introduction ................................................... 13

Welcome to This Marriage Preparation Journey! ~ Susanne M. Alexander

Foreword ..................................................... 17

   The Value of Relationship and Marriage Education ~ Julie M. Baumgardner

Chapter 1: Preparing As a Couple ................................. 22

chapter 2: pacing and timing togetherness ......................... 47

chapter 3: preparing as individuals ............................... 66

chapter 4: adjusting expectations ................................ 92

chapter 5: deepening friendship ................................ 102

chapter 6: knowing one another ............................... 112

chapter 7: appreciating diversity ................................ 148

chapter 8: understanding sex .................................. 182

chapter 9: concerning cohabiting ............................... 205

chapter 10: growing in love ................................... 223

 

Chapter 11: Communicating Effectively ........................... 246

chapter 12: building relationship strengths ....................... 276

chapter 13: creating a partnership .............................. 306

chapter 14: interacting with family .............................. 327

chapter 15: forming a stepfamily ................................ 337

chapter 16: becoming parents and rearing children ............... 355

chapter 17: handling money .................................... 365

chapter 18: responding to difficulties ........................... 379

chapter 19: planning for marriage ............................... 402

 

Chapter 20: Planning the Wedding ............................... 416