12/14/2015 Brody, a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating relational conflict, urges conflict-prone couples to look at the big picture, especially when fights occur where each partner feels like a victim. Her new book explains how to stop fights before they even begin. Brody combines prudent advice with simple, cartoon-like illustrations to help couples see the patterns in their disagreements. She further shows how often hurt feelings translate into aggressive and cruel statements (which she describes as a function of our instinctual fight-or-flight behavior), perpetuating and escalating disagreements. In response, she suggests getting to the individual core values—feeling appreciated, loved, and wanted. Spanning 12 common causes for fights, including nagging, house work, money, and sex, the book provides tools for opening lines of communication and establishing happy, healthy, and mutually supportive relationships. The result is a helpful and concise manual for anyone in a relationship, as the issues addressed are as common as they are destructive. Brody handles the subject well, and her skill and experience in her field shows outright. Agent: Jessica Papin, Dystel and Goderich. (Oct.)
"I couldn’t put this book down! It’s insightful, incisive, hilarious, and hard-hitting all the same time—not to mention incredibly helpful. I hope everyone reads it."
"The most creative effort I have for more couples to learn how to communicate effectively. The illustrations and text, together, brilliantly demonstrate the various traps couples fall into and playfully educate about solutions that can transform a relationship. This book will save many marriages."
"Stop the Fight! , Michelle Brody’s deeply thought-out, and yet entirely accessible, new book on how to stop fights between spouses made me feel oddly exposed and greatly relieved at the same time. Her understanding of how couples irrationally attack each other under stress is eerily familiar. So much so, I hoped my kids weren’t reading the accompanying cartoons over my shoulder, for fear they’d scream, ‘Mom! That’s just like you and Dad!’ A great read for any couple ready to break bad habits but don’t want the earnestness of most prescriptive books on improving your marriage."
"All relationships have conflicts eventually. Fighting may be a learning experience or a potential disaster. Stop the Fight! gives readers clear, easy tools to use in order to make these conversations productive and win-win! Great job, Michelle Brod"
Drs. Joni Frater and Esther Lastique
"Michelle Brody has given couples not a map, but a GPS to help them resolve their issues. It is user-friendly, solid advice that will allow any couple willing to invest the time to make their lives whole again."
"I love Stop the Fight! —the insights and anecdotes are practical and applicable to real-life relationships, and the clever cartoons make sure the points stick."
"Stop the Fight! breathes new life into the tired field of self-help books. It creatively delivers real solutions to serious problems in a package wrapped with pictures and laughter. Transforming your relationship doesn’t need to be a tedious chore, it can happen in the enjoyment of reading these pages together."
"A fun and clever way of helping couples with conflict resolution."
"Research has proven that every relationship has at least nine irreconcilable differences. For many couples this results in fighting and arguing. The really good news is this: The book you hold in your hands will guide you to a new way of building a deep, loving relationship without all the yelling, shaming, and blaming. Highly recommended."
"Stop The Fight! digs into the dynamics of unhappy marriages and emerges with guidelines that are clear and instantly applicable. All this with charming illustrations. What a gift to couples everywhere who struggle to live less annoyingly ever after!"
"Stop the Fight! gives you timeless tools to turn arguments into avenues for intimacy. Unlike other books on building and repairing relationships Dr. Brody gives us numerous visual illustrations. More than words you see creative cartoons that vividly bring to life the wise advice given. I highly recommend this book to anyone, or any couple, that wants to stop the fight!"
2015 INDIEFAB Honorable Mention for Family Relationships “A helpful and concise manual for anyone in a relationship. . . Brody handles the subject well, and her skill and experience in her field shows outright.”—Publishers Weekly “A clever and nonthreatening resource for couples wishing to get along better.”—Library Journal “I couldn’t put this book down! It’s insightful, incisive, hilarious, and hard-hitting all the same time—not to mention incredibly helpful. I hope everyone reads it.” —Amy Chua, Yale Law School professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America "Stop The Fight! digs into the dynamics of unhappy marriages and emerges with guidelines that are clear and instantly applicable. All this with charming illustrations. What a gift to couples everywhere who struggle to live less annoyingly ever after!" —Adele Faber , coauthor of How To Talk So Kids Will Listen Listen So Kids Will Talk “Stop the Fight! breathes new life into the tired field of self-help books. It creatively delivers real solutions to serious problems in a package wrapped with pictures and laughter. Transforming your relationship doesn’t need to be a tedious chore, it can happen in the enjoyment of reading these pages together.” —George Faller, founder and director of the New York Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy “Stop the Fight! gives you timeless tools to turn arguments into avenues for intimacy. Unlike other books on building and repairing relationships Dr. Brody gives us numerous visual illustrations. More than words you see creative cartoons that vividly bring to life the wise advice given. I highly recommend this book to anyone, or any couple, that wants to stop the fight!” —Xavier Amador, PhD, author of I’m Right You”re Wrong, Now What? and featured therapist on NBC, Bravo, ABC, CNN and PBS Nova “Research has proven that every relationship has at least nine irreconcilable differences. For many couples this results in fighting and arguing. The really good news is this: The book you hold in your hands will guide you to a new way of building a deep, loving relationship without all the yelling, shaming, and blaming. Highly recommended.” —Arielle Ford, author of The Soulmate Secret “Michelle Brody has given couples not a map, but a GPS to help them resolve their issues. It is user-friendly, solid advice that will allow any couple willing to invest the time to make their lives whole again.” —Barton Goldsmith, PhD, nationally syndicated columnist and author of 100 Ways to Defeat Depression “A fun and clever way of helping couples with conflict resolution.” —Suzanne Iasenza, PhD, New York City-based psychologist and faculty at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and the postgraduate program in couple therapy at Adelphi University’s Derner Institute “I love Stop the Fight! —the insights and anecdotes are practical and applicable to real-life relationships, and the clever cartoons make sure the points stick.” —Victoria Moran, author of Living a Charmed Life “Stop the Fight! , Michelle Brody’s deeply thought-out, and yet entirely accessible, new book on how to stop fights between spouses made me feel oddly exposed and greatly relieved at the same time. Her understanding of how couples irrationally attack each other under stress is eerily familiar. So much so, I hoped my kids weren’t reading the accompanying cartoons over my shoulder, for fear they’d scream, ‘Mom! That’s just like you and Dad!’ A great read for any couple ready to break bad habits but don’t want the earnestness of most prescriptive books on improving your marriage.” —Dani Klein Modisett, author of Take My Spouse, Please: How to Keep Your Marriage Happy, Healthy, and Thriving by Following the Rules of Comedy “The most creative effort I have for more couples to learn how to communicate effectively. The illustrations and text, together, brilliantly demonstrate the various traps couples fall into and playfully educate about solutions that can transform a relationship. This book will save many marriages.” —Therese J. Borchard, founder and host of ProjectBeyondBlue.com and author of Beyond Blue and I Like Being Married “All relationships have conflicts eventually. Fighting may be a learning experience or a potential disaster. Stop the Fight! gives readers clear, easy tools to use in order to make these conversations productive and win-win! Great job, Michelle Brody, for guiding us on how to assess our behaviors, and for the step-by-step tools needed to enhance our communication skills, teaching us to see the whole picture, and offering tips on rebuilding the connection that we desire!” —Drs. Joni Frater and Esther Lastique, therapists and coauthors of Love Her Right
11/15/2015 Through her work with couples and corporations, clinical psychologist Brody has found that lasting change in negative interactions derives from each party seeing the big picture. To help readers "see" the whole, the author presents over 300 cartoons and thought bubbles showing what both sides of a couple are thinking in the midst of common arguments. Some of these include the "partner improvement fight," the "'you don't care about me' fight," and the "household responsibilities fight." Using the comical cartoon figures, Brody helps couples understand each other's intentions, needs, and dreams. VERDICT A clever and nonthreatening resource for couples wishing to get along better.