Many couples have never learned the tremendous power of verbally affirming each other.

Many couples have never learned the tremendous power of verbally affirming each other.

This book [Desperate Marriages ] is really a book on how to be a positive change agent in a very, very difficult marriage. I am not promising that all individuals will be responsive to the approach I take, but I do believe that many marriages could be saved... could be healed. That is my hope.

Very few alcoholics get into a treatment program until they are at the end of the rope, often when they feel like they are about to lose something that is important to them, namely a wife or their family. The same is true with those who are physically and verbally abusive.

We cannot rely on our native tongue if our spouse does not understand it. If we want them to feel the love we are trying to communicate, we must express it in his or her primary love language.

Our spouse will usually interpret our message based on our tone of voice, not the words we use.

People tend to criticize their spouse most loudly in the area where they themselves have the deepest emotional need.