5 Essentials for Lifelong Intimacy (Home Counts)

In 5 Essentials for Lifelong Intimacy, Dr. Dobson speaks directly to the greatest concerns and questions of modern couples: Will we grow together or apart? What can we do to keep romance fresh? With marriages crumbling all around us, how can we cultivate an intimate relationship? Principles understood by previous generations often seem foreign to today’s husbands and wives, yet they are the essential ingredients for building a close, long-term relationship in any age:

• A home founded on Jesus Christ and the practice of persistent prayer

• Unswerving commitment to one another

• Mutual respect and trust

• A sense of romance

• Effective communication

For the young couple just starting out or in the early years of marriage, 5 Essentials will combine a concise message of hope with practical tools for developing a thriving, intimate union, and more mature husbands and wives will discover a fresh look at marriage, pointing the way to renewed closeness and a fulfilling, lifelong love.

When we said “I do,” did we really mean “till death do us part”? What can we do to keep our romance alive? With so many marriages ending in divorce, how can ours be different? How can we have a fulfilling relationship that goes the distance?

Dr. James Dobson, America ’s most trusted authority on marriage and family, equips you and your spouse to build a firm foundation for a love that endures the test of time. Biblically sound teaching in five key areas, from persistent prayer to passionate romance, will help you build a strong and steadfast union—today, tomorrow, and always!

Story Behind the Book

For every ten marriages in America today, five will end in bitter conflict and divorce. The other five will stay together for a lifetime, but in varying degrees of harmony. Incredibly, only one or two couples in ten will reach deep levels of intimacy in their marriages. Yet with a little wise counsel—and a burning desire to succeed—husbands and wives can achieve that mystical bond of friendship, understanding, and commitment that almost defies explanation. 5 Essentials is designed to help them do just that.

James Dobson is founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization whose internationally syndicated radio programs are heard by more than 200 million people daily. He earned his PhD from the University of Southern California in the field of child development. A licensed psychologist and marriage, family, and child counselor, Dr. Dobson is the author of numerous bestselling books dedicated to the preservation of the family, including the award-winning Night Light and Night Light for Parents with his wife, Shirley. Dr. and Mrs. Dobson have two grown children and live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.