Why Did I Marry You Anyway? : Overcoming the Myths That Hinder a Happy Marriage

Helpful Strategies for Improving Your Marriage

Movies like Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember bombard people with bad ideas about love. We are led to believe that if you meet the “right person” and fall in love, your marriage will thrive and you will be happy. However, while love is important, stable marriages are not based on love alone.

Barbara Bartlein has worked with hundreds of couples as they have worked to save their marriages, and in Why Did I Marry You Anyway? she shares the secrets of what they have learned together. A happy, successful marriage almost always is the result of hard work and commitment, she says, but all too often people don’t know what to do to improve their marriages. This book fills that gap. With 15 strategies that cover all the common problems in relationships—like money, children, sex, and in-laws—Bartlein tells couples what to do and shows them how to do it.

Each chapter addresses one of these important relationship-building strategies. First, a common complaint is explored. Second, common myths that block solutions to the problem are identified and helpful ways of countering them suggested. Third, case studies illustrate the concepts in action with real couples. Finally, quizzes and tools provide opportunities to practice these new skills and behaviors. The result is a helpful, humorous, and easy-to-read book that will result in positive changes in the lives of those who read it and put its strategies into practice.