Marriageology, The Art & Science of Staying Together – written by Belinda Luscombe
I must claim that I felt somewhat sceptical when presented with this book to review. The author, Belinda Luscombe is described as: ‘An award winning journalist who has worked for Time magazine for two decades. She has won the Council on Contemporary Families Media Award for Print Coverage of family issues, and has been married for twenty-five years and has two children’. I wasn’t entirely sure if this was sufficient to claim to be an expert on relationships, or if I would gain anything from reading the book. How wrong could I be! By the time I had read the first couple of pages I was hooked. The book has plenty of scientific research and advice from experts such as Sue Johnson and the Gottman Institute but what really makes it special, is the anecdotes shared by Luscombe that are written with such honesty and humour.
The book is intended as a guide to staying together. It does offer advice and gives plenty for the reader to think about whether their marriage is teetering on the brink, or just needs a bit of maintenance. It is well worth taking time to read, I certainly found it both entertaining and informative; I also think it is a great one to recommend to clients who want to do a bit of reading themselves.