Why Talking Is Not Enough: Eight Loving Actions That Will Transform Your Marriage

by Susan Page

Overview

Why Talking Is Not Enough, written by Susan Page, author of the acclaimed bestseller If I’m So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single? presents a novel relationship strategy based on subtle, powerful changes in your own actions. This method shows you the magic of “Keep your mouth out of it!” Page’s pioneering eight-step program invites you to give up problem solving and move directly to a warmer, more loving and fun relationship, based on universal spiritual principles.

In this book you will learn how to transform your relationship into a Spiritual Partnership by adopting these Eight Loving Actions:

• Adopt a Spirit of Good Will
• Give Up Problem Solving
• Act as If
• Practice Restraint
• Balance Giving and Taking
• Act on Your Own
• Practice Acceptance
• Practice Compassion

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787995294
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/27/2007
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

SUSAN PAGE has been conducting workshops for both singles and couples, nationally and internationally, since 1980. Her international speaking and media career has taken her to twenty-six states, Canada, Korea, Australia, and Mexico. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and CNBC, and her work has appeared in People magazine, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Glamour, and McCall’s.
Susan began her career as a Protestant campus minister at Washington University in St. Louis and at Columbia University in New York. She was director of women’s programs at the University of California, Berkeley, where she helped found the nation’s first university-based human sexuality program.
Her previous books include How One of You Can Bring the Two of You Together; The Eight Essential Traits of Couples Who Thrive; If I’m So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single? and The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

PART ONE

What Is Spiritual Partnership?

1. Introducing Spiritual Partnership 11

2. Loving Action 1: Adopt a Spirit of Good Will 47

3. Loving Action 2: Give Up Problem Solving 55

4. Loving Action 3: Act as If 71

5. Loving Action 4: Practice Restraint 89

6. Loving Action 5: Balance Giving and Taking 115

7. Loving Action 6: Act on Your Own 129

8. Loving Action 7: Practice Acceptance 157

9. Loving Action 8: Practice Compassion 183

PART TWO

Putting Spiritual Partnership to Work in Your Relationship

10. Exactly How to Use the Eight Loving Actions 209

11. Frequently Asked Questions 221

12. Communication Within Spiritual Partnership 231

13. Making Mature Judgments 241

PART THREE

Seeing Spiritual Partnership in a Broader Context

14. Defining the “Spiritual” in Spiritual Partnership 249

15. The Future of Spiritual Partnership 279

References and Further Reading 291

About the Author 295

Editorial Reviews

Two of the best books to come out this year on marriage improvement take a practical approach, blend it with spirituality, and offer easily applicable advice. Christian broadcaster Burns (The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family), who has been married for 30 years, encourages couples to commit more time and energy to their marriages. His book is designed to be read with a partner so as best to discover ways of building intimacy, enhancing communication, and honing problem-solving skills. Most chapters end with discussion questions intended to help partners grow closer. In a somewhat similar vein, workshop leader and speaker Page (If We're So in Love, Why Aren't We Happy?: Using Spiritual Principles To Solve Real Problems and Restore Your Passion) presents the notion of a spiritual partnership, or one that uses loving actions instead of verbal communication as the key means of enhancing love and resolving conflict. Spiritual partnership also involves shifting the focus from changing one's partner to changing oneself. Some of Page's suggestions include adopting a spirit of goodwill and acting as if one were a loving, adoring spouse and vice versa. Both authors bring a strong spiritual component to their recommendations, although Burns espouses a more traditional religious standpoint. Page has the rare ability to bring the spiritual down to earth and apply it to everyday situations. Her writing is clear, and her suggestions are easy to follow. Intimate Marriage will be particularly popular in Christian circles; Talking should work anywhere. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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