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Numerous books appear in print each year, dealing with many aspects of marriage counseling. The fact that so many books concern themselves with marriage indicates that a dire need exists for the understanding, clarifying and realigning of marriages. It is difficult, if not confusing, to select and read that book which will answer most questions posed in this area. The volume under review is such a book.
Instead of perpetuating time honored clichés, the authors point out that one of the underlying causes for the ever-growing rate of marriage failure lies in the fact that “American thinking patterns and traditional American values concerning marriage are rusty, broken down, obsolete.” They also call attention to the fact that our current laws concerning marriage, divorce, alimony and custody were taken over from English common law—some over five hundred years old.
The authors concentrate on four goals. Through comparisons and pertinent case discussions they show the reader how the maladies of modern marriage can be diagnosed. This helps the reader to diagnose his own marital situation. It tells how outside diagnostic help can be secured when a couple cannot identify their own marital ailment. The book suggests ways and means through which a sick marriage can be nursed back to health. Finally, if a marriage is dead, one should recognize “that it is a corpse so that it can be buried with grace and