Psychology Of Romantic Love * What Love Is, Why Love Is Born, Why It Grows, .

This book was way a head of its time!!!! My life is greatly improved from having read this!! I have been married for over 20 years. I have been contemplating my marriage this book helped me a lot. I am so glad I happened to stumble upon it! Everyone would benefit from reading this book. Some of my favorite parts: -Our life is in our own hands, our destiny is ours to shape. -As people continue to grow and evolve, their needs and desires change or shift. New goals and longings can emerge, causing rifts in relationships. This does not mean-or need not mean- that love has “failed.” A union that provides great joy, nourishment, and stimulation for two human beings is not a “failure” merely because it does not last forever; it can still be a great experience that one is glad to have lived. -A romantic-love relationship can nourish us; it cannot become a substitute for personal identity. -If someone professed to love us but when talking about what he or she found lovable named characteristics we did not think we possessed, and could not personally relate to, we would hardly feel nourished or loved. We do not wish to be loved blindly. -of the various factors that are vital for the success of romantic love, none is more important than self-esteem. The first love affair we must consummate successfully is the love affair with ourselves. Only then are we ready for other love relationships. - I love how he talks about how we need to be given freedom, space and time alone. That if we are not allowed to have these things the romance is suffocated and dies. Everyone needs to have space to be their own person. -Self-acceptance is the foundation of acceptance of others. The acceptance of our own feelings is the foundation of our acceptance of the feelings of others. - Honesty and courage serve the growth of romantic love. Dishonesty and cowardice inevitably subvert by. - The waste of two lives in an empty marriage or relationship is a tragedy. - Love is a profound act of self assertion. Chapter 4 is a must read!

This was the first book of Nathaniel Branden's that I read. I have since read all of them (some even twice). This covers some important ground focusing on love relationships. I place other books of his more highly in terms of overall favorites and most powerfully life-changing (e.g. The Disowned Self and Taking Responsibility), but this rounds out his body of work well and I definitely do recommend it.

person? Really SEE who they are... regardless of you... not what you need them to be for you ~ not for qualities you wish you had yourself ~ but do you SEE them? it's where everything starts... and proceeds from there to grow, or to go away... this book followed by Dreams Of Love and Fateful Encounters are all anyone ever needs to find out What Love Is... hopefully, it'll be reprinted one of these days...

I have always wondered if I really even understood what real love is. This book explained it all to me. It's history, how my self-esteem effects it, why selfishness is a normal and valid part of love, what characteristics help love to succeed, and what missing links cause it to remain unfulfilling. I'm going to make my children read this before they get married. Everyone needs to know this stuff.

This book made a deep impression on me and as a result I started a web site matchmaking forum based on Branden's concepts outlined in his wonderful book. The concepts are lucidly explained and derived from basic principles.

This is a great book about the nature of romantic love over the centuries. It puts the kind of love called romantic love into perspective with other kinds, and talks about what makes for a stable relationship. As a spouse of 27 years, I find it is very interesting to try to understand the nature of love and commitment. The fact that Branden is an authority on self-esteem also helps for this topic. I have read the book from the library, and now I am trying to find it to buy.