Steve Biddulph - The Secret of Happy Parents - How to Stay in Love as a Couple and True to Yourself

Thorsons

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Australia and New Zealand as The Making of Love by Doubleday 1988

Revised and expanded edition by Doubleday 1999

Published in the UK as How Love Works by Thorsons 2000

Copyright © Steve and Shaaron Biddulph

Steve and Shaaron Biddulph assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780722536698

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2013 ISBN 9780007373598

Version: 2016-08-24

It doesn’t much matter whether you are a billionaire, or you work in the corner shop.

It doesn’t matter if you are good looking, educated, famous, or unknown.

You are here, in this life, to learn how to love, and that’s all.

You have always known this.

Title Page The Secret of Happy Parents How to Stay in Love as a Couple and True to Yourself Steve and Shaaron Biddulph

Copyright Copyright Copyright Dedication Special Note Foreword Chapter 1 About Us, About You Chapter 2 Compatibility: The Ways We Connect Chapter 3 Why We Choose Who We Choose Chapter 4 Commitment: The Freedom You Can Count On Chapter 5 What Kind of Couple Are You? Chapter 6 How Solving Problems Brings You Closer Chapter 7 Fighting Your Way to Closeness Chapter 8 Then Along Come the Kids Chapter 9 The Sex-Romance Alliance Chapter 10 Advanced Lessons Appendix Further Reading Index Acknowledgements About the Publisher Thorsons An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Australia and New Zealand as The Making of Love by Doubleday 1988 Revised and expanded edition by Doubleday 1999 Published in the UK as How Love Works by Thorsons 2000 Copyright © Steve and Shaaron Biddulph Steve and Shaaron Biddulph assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication. Source ISBN: 9780722536698 Ebook Edition © MARCH 2013 ISBN 9780007373598 Version: 2016-08-24

Dedication Dedication Dedication Special Note Foreword Chapter 1 About Us, About You Chapter 2 Compatibility: The Ways We Connect Chapter 3 Why We Choose Who We Choose Chapter 4 Commitment: The Freedom You Can Count On Chapter 5 What Kind of Couple Are You? Chapter 6 How Solving Problems Brings You Closer Chapter 7 Fighting Your Way to Closeness Chapter 8 Then Along Come the Kids Chapter 9 The Sex-Romance Alliance Chapter 10 Advanced Lessons Appendix Further Reading Index Acknowledgements About the Publisher It doesn’t much matter whether you are a billionaire, or you work in the corner shop. It doesn’t matter if you are good looking, educated, famous, or unknown. You are here, in this life, to learn how to love, and that’s all. You have always known this.

Special Note Special Note In the book we use the word ‘married’ in a specific way; that is, to indicate two people in a committed long-term project of loving and learning. It is not necessary to be legally married to do this (and it is possible to be legally married and not in such a project). Though the book is primarily written with heterosexual couples in mind, we hope gay and lesbian couples will find it just as useful.

Foreword

Chapter 1 About Us, About You

Chapter 2 Compatibility: The Ways We Connect

Chapter 3 Why We Choose Who We Choose

Chapter 4 Commitment: The Freedom You Can Count On

Chapter 5 What Kind of Couple Are You?

Chapter 6 How Solving Problems Brings You Closer

Chapter 7 Fighting Your Way to Closeness

Chapter 8 Then Along Come the Kids

Chapter 9 The Sex-Romance Alliance

Chapter 10 Advanced Lessons

Appendix

Further Reading

Index

Acknowledgements

About the Publisher

In the book we use the word ‘married’ in a specific way; that is, to indicate two people in a committed long-term project of loving and learning. It is not necessary to be legally married to do this (and it is possible to be legally married and not in such a project).

Though the book is primarily written with heterosexual couples in mind, we hope gay and lesbian couples will find it just as useful.

This book was first written in 1988. We had been about ready to retire it, but kept meeting people in shops or in the street who said this was the book of all our books that really helped them the most. So instead of a dose of euthanasia, the book has been resuscitated, massaged, Viagra’d, and given a major renovation! Its aims are now much clearer, the language is simplified, its methods easier and more powerful.