Conversations Before a Marriage

We live in a time when half of all American marriages end in divorce despite the wealth of communication technologies and advances in our understanding of human psychology. In Conversations Before A Marriage, Mediation & Conflict Management Services founder Matt Kramer helps the reader to break down the barriers to communication through exercises and informative instruction; how to confront difficult problems inherent in and experienced by every adult relationship; and to lay the groundwork for a long and happy marriage. Conversations Before A Marriage is fervently recommended reading for anyone contemplating entering into marriage, as well as those who are married and seeking to strengthen their marital bonds.

This book is a gem, authored by a skilled professional mediator. A battery of sometimes pointed, practical and important questions you should ask your future spouse concerning a wide range of topics that can cause problems in a marriage relationship: money, children, work, religion, sex, friends & relatives, pets, cultural differences, personal habits, and styles of dealing with conflict. Gets it all out in the open with helpful guides for dealing with the information revealed. Additional exercises in honest and effective communications, forgiveness and handling anger before it becomes destructive. They should teach this stuff in high school -- it would serve young people better throughout their lives than much of the academic curriculum they 'learn' and instantly forget. I am a secular minister and wedding officiant in the Los Angeles area, and I encourage all the couples I marry -- regardless of their age or experience in relationships -- to work through the enlightening exercises in this book.

What a valuable book! It should be required reading for all those who apply for a marriage license. It helps young (and old) lovers focus on the realization that the honeymoon doesn't last forever; eventually reality steps in. Love doesn't conquer all, and better to discuss the problems before the marriage rather than after the divorce. The book is written in a wonderful manner which encourages dialogue on various situations which may affect the union at some point in the future. Obviously the book cannot anticipate or address every possible event. However it does set up a system for putting any potential problems on the table before the wedding.The book is encased in a cheerful, colorful bookcover. The cover alone deserves an award. The content within as well.