Till Death Do Us Part (Unless I Kill You First): A Step-by-Step Guide for Resolving Marital Conflict - Hardcover

Jamie Turndorf

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805061126 ISBN 13: 9780805061123

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 2000

Synopsis

A proven plan that breaks the conflict cycle, this book is "mandatory reading for every couple that wants to build lasting love"(John Bradshaw).

When fighting breaks out between a husband and wife, the husband's typical reaction is to withdraw, either emotionally or physically. When he does, his wife often becomes more frustrated and angry, which in turn causes the husband to withdraw even more. The fighting escalates with each subsequent outbreak. But it doesn't have to. During her fifteen years of clinical and laboratory research, couples therapist Jamie Turndorf, Ph.D., has developed a proven program that breaks the conflict cycle for ninety percent of the couples who use it. She advises couples to start with a series of cool-down steps and to move on to resolution exercises that will allow them to address difficult issues and subjects in a nonadversarial manner.

Filled with easy-to-follow advice and helpful anecdotes, Turndorf's book gives couples the advice they need to calm an emotional exchange before it becomes a fight. Till Death Do Us Part offers the path to peace that all fighting couples are looking for.

About this title

About the Author

Jamie Turndorf, Ph.D., is a practicing couples therapist and the director of the Center for Emotional Communication in Millbrook, New York, where she lives with her husband. She can be heard weekly on WEVD radio in New York. Her Web site, www.askdrlove.com, receives more than 1,000,000 hits per month.

Reviews

Turndorf, popularly known as "Dr. Love" in her newspaper column, focuses here on improving communication skills and reducing marital conflict. Early chapters analyze the nature of conflict, including the biochemical reactions of the body to fighting, subjects that provoke continued conflict, and behavior that escalates arguments. Then, before presenting her conflict-resolution plan, Turndorf identifies childhood wounds that may be aggravating spousal conflicts and encourages readers to heal these wounds so that they may concentrate on improving their current marital problems. The final chapters introduce the author's program for conflict resolution, with an emphasis on the development of listening and negotiation skills. Notes and suggested readings follow the text, but, unfortunately, these resources are quite dated; many were published in the 1970s. Overall, this is the worst kind of self-help book: a lot of hot air without much substance. Still, it's sure to find an audience; appropriate for self-help collections in public libraries.AKay L. Brodie, Chesapeake Coll., Wye Mills., MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0805061126
• ISBN 13: 9780805061123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224