At the Very Heart and Soul: A

FINALIST! 14th Annual National Indie Excellence(R) Awards (NIEA) - Relationships Genre

FINALIST! Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest - Self-Help/Relationship Genre

Mr. Gocke's book is written from an expert but layman's point of view which makes this such a unique and sometimes humorous, down-to-earth approach to gratitude and appreciation for long-term relationships. Earning a Master of Science Degree in Labor Relations from West Virginia University has given Mr. Gocke a strong background in the area of human relations. Having been an Associate Professor of Management for thirty years, Mr. Gocke has gained insight and a broad perspective concerning the effects of appreciation and gratitude on relationships. Because his courses were so human-relations oriented, his expertise has been enhanced through the years. His personal encounters with students over those years with so many different personality types taught him the value of appreciation and gratitude when dealing with difficult issues. He also realized that any healthy relationship needs appreciation for long-term survival. According to Mr. Gocke, gratitude and appreciation are at the very heart and soul of bonding as human beings. Mr. Gocke discusses the basics of appreciation along with personal stories and practical application exercises to help couples understand the importance appreciation plays in their long-term relationship. Journaling is used to help keep couples focused on their relationship. Mr. Gocke discusses how the familiarity stage always arrives after the honeymoon phase and that as we deepen into the familiarity stage appreciation starts to drift away ever so slowly. Having too much of a good thing and taking too much for granted often accompanies the familiarity stage. Adding to that is living in a modern society as we do today which places an enormous amount of stress on long-term relationships. The causes of this stress for couples are a hurry-up style of living, the technological advances and gadgets that absorb our time, our hectic work schedules, bringing-up children, social obligations, and the many chores to keep the home running smoothly. His book has the many answers to these issues that couples face during their long-term relationship. Mr. Gocke even feels that showing appreciation on a daily basis in personal relations at home could be the cure for the growing "it's all about me" attitude that has overtaken our society today. He feels that appreciation and gratitude learned and practiced at home between couples and their children could easily spread to outside the family. The results could just be as simple as having a few more caring hearts and kinder souls in relationships today!

Mr. Gocke is a retired Associate Professor of Management who lectured at Marshall University, Eastern Kentucky University, and Terra State Community College. He has received numerous awards in his teaching career but the most notable was his nomination for the prestigious award of Ohio Community College Teacher of the Year in 1998. As an author, Mr. Gocke has written three books.