The Four Loves
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • We need this today, more than ever before.
  • like being one of his students at Cambridge
  • Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth
  • Listen to Lewis
  • "For news of the fully waking world you must go to my betters": But Lewis is a Great Place to Start
The Four Loves
C.S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156329301

Amazon.com

The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human love--affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candid reflections on the virtues and dangers of love draw on sources from Jane Austen to St. Augustine. The chapter on charity (love of God) may be the best thing Lewis ever wrote about Christianity. Consider his reflection on Augustine's teaching that one must love only God, because only God is eternal, and all earthly love will someday pass away:
Who could conceivably begin to love God on such a prudential ground--because the security (so to speak) is better? Who could even include it among the grounds for loving? Would you choose a wife or a Friend--if it comes to that, would you choose a dog--in this spirit? One must be outside the world of love, of all loves, before one thus calculates.
His description of Christianity here is no less forceful and opinionated than in Mere Christianity or The Problem of Pain, but it is far less anxious about its reader's response--and therefore more persuasive than any of his apologetics. When he begins to describe the nature of faith, Lewis writes: "Take it as one man's reverie, almost one man's myth. If anything in it is useful to you, use it; if anything is not, never give it a second thought." --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

A candid, wise, and warmly personal book in which Lewis explores the possibilities and problems of the four basic kinds of human love- affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. “Immensely worthwhile for its simplicity...a rare and memorable book” (Sydney J. Harris).

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars We need this today, more than ever before........2007-08-23

Supposedly this is the only existing audio of the voice of C.S. Lewis. Originally, I was hoping to find audio of his famous radio talks which later became his book "Mere Christianity". Even though this wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it is phenomenal to hear the voice of C.S. Lewis. The Four Loves should be recommended reading/listening for every engaged couple. For those of us who have been married for some time, his book sheds beautiful light on what our relationships should look like.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

5 out of 5 stars like being one of his students at Cambridge.......2007-07-22

One of the things I like most about college are the lectures of a really erudite professor. It's such a joy to hear someone with a dazzling array of experiences and insights speak on his subject of expertise. These 4 talks are the closest most of us will ever come to sitting in a Cambridge classroom and hearing the one and only C.S. Lewis talk and talk about a subject of intense and intimate interest to just about all of us: love. While perhaps of lesser aesthetic quality than Plato's "Symposium", it is, nonetheless, far more insightful and USEFUL (That's not to say Plato is not useful; far from it! It is precisely BECAUSE Plato is so eminently insightful and useful that I consider this to be just about the highest compliment one could pay Lewis's work, and a compliment which is richly deserved!). Lewis's unparalleled understanding of human nature; his ability to illustrate the true significance of often overlooked, seemingly trivial things; his use of disparate and always apt illustrations from literature, history, psychology, life, philosophy, and religion; the way in which the highest and the lowest are always placed in right relation in his account of things; all these hallmarks of Lewis's genius are on full display in these lectures on the four types of love: domestic affection, friendship, erotic love, and Christian charity.
In fact, Lewis's understanding that these various types of love differ not only in degree but in kind enable him to avoid many of the apparent problems of Plato's account. I would recommend that Lewis's "Four Loves" and Plato's "Symposium" be read back-to-back and then criticized in light of each other, and then reread back-to-back again. Listening to them both (there is an excellent line of dramatic readings of Plato's works by Naxos audio-books) is very helpful, for one gets something different from hearing a lecture than from just reading notes (even if they are an exact transcript of the lecture). Also, Lewis's talks differ slightly in content from the book, and the differences, while slight, are somewhat instructive.
One can truly listen with rapt interest and amazement to these talks over, and over, and over, and over, and...

4 out of 5 stars Three kinds of love and how to sanctify them with a Fourth.......2007-06-24


In the introduction, Lewis discusses the differences between Gift-love and Need-love. He explains that although our Need-loves may be demanding and greedy, they are good and necessary because there is little danger that they can be made into gods. They are not near enough to God, by likeness, to be twisted like that. The highest does not exist without the lowest and a plant has roots below as well as sunlight above.

Chapter 2: Likings And Loves For The Sub-Human, is a discussion of Pleasures of Need versus Pleasures of Appreciation. The types of love explored here include patriotism and love of nature. The next chapter: Affection, deals with the humblest love as Lewis calls it. He refers to literary works like The Wind In The Willows, Tristram Shandy, Emma and others to demonstrate the good and the bad manifestations of this kind of love.

Friendship is explored in Chapter 4, again with reference to literature, including inter alia Ralph Waldo Emerson. This section includes an interesting discussion of the word "spiritual" - which is nowadays often used as substitute for "religious". Lewis reminds us that there is spiritual evil as well as spiritual good. The next chapter deals with Eros and he points out its aspects of glory and its playfullness, with reference to books like Anna Karenina and 1984, and certain passages from scripture.

The final chapter is titled Charity and includes an interesting view of a passage from the Confessions by St Augustine. Lewis notes that the Gift-loves are natural images of God whilst the Need-loves are correlatives (not opposites) of the love that God is. When God is admitted to the human heart, He transforms our Gift-love and our Need-love. Conversion is necessary for our natural loves to enter the heavenly life.

The main lesson of the book is the importance of Charity. Without it, all three of the aforementioned types of love may become distorted and even dangerous. Although this little book provides great insight, I have not found it to be as accessible as his masterpiece Mere Christianity or his comforting book titled The Problem of Pain.

Sometimes his arguments are hard to follow and his views and examples of certain types of love are coloured by the English culture of the period in which he lived, thus not always universally applicable. The book would also have been a better reference source if an index had been provided. Besides these minor comlaints, The Four Loves is still a great read that provides valuable insight into the human condition.

5 out of 5 stars Listen to Lewis.......2007-06-06

If you have only read "The Four Loves," you haven't heard all that Lewis had to say on the subject. The audio version, read by Lewis himself is shorter than the print version of this book, but it includes material not in print. It takes a few minutes to get used to Lewis' voice, but soon you feel that you are sitting in a room with him as he tells stories and talks about what he has learned from his experiences of the four loves.

5 out of 5 stars "For news of the fully waking world you must go to my betters": But Lewis is a Great Place to Start.......2007-05-29

C.S. Lewis's short _The Four Loves_, published near the end of the author's life in 1960, is worthy companion for a long afternoon or evening of reading and meditation. Lewis discusses in both an enlightening and light tone the four forms of love in ascending order: affection, friendship, eros, and charity. As a preliminary to this discussion, Lewis also describes likings and loves for "sub-human" (that is, loving a cup of tea or loving nature). The work is a philosophy of love that draws upon Lewis's own day-to-day observations, the writings of well-known and lesser known philosophers, and the works of artists. All of these types of love lead to an insight that these natural loves--that is, the loves that make up our daily lives--intimate a much large love, that of God for humankind. For Lewis, these natural loves are themselves not enough. Lewis describes a form of Christian love based on Jesus's own sacrifice and the unknowable mystery of God's love. This is the majesty of charity.

One basic principle of Lewis's work is the distinction between Need-love and Gift-love. The Need-love has to do, for Lewis, with "a craving to be loved," which is akin to a child's longing for the love of his parents'. Instead of disparaging this type of love as wholely selfish, Lewis describes how this type of love, while limited, is "the accurate reflection in consciousness of our actual nature." Lewis writes that "we need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves." Lewis acknowledges the human condition sympathetically. Gift-love, by contrast, has its ultimate expression in Christ's death on the cross. This is an active, selfless love. Lewis characterizes Gift-love in its ordinary expression as "that love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he will die without sharing or seeing."

Lewis's book is filled with wise observations. The chapters on affection and friendship, which are the least religious in nature, are superb. The comments about divine love are engaging, as well. For example, in describing human beings' craving for God's help, he writes, "Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God." Here, Lewis points out that often humans turn to God or spirituality in type of deepest despair or wretchedness. Later, he quotes a line of verse, "The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be" to highlight how in need people will search for god, not out of sincerity per se, but in a desperate longing to be saved. In chapter one, Lewis draws an analogy between a traveler's journey being not always straight in path and the journey toward God. For example, a traveler who is near to a village in physical proximity, say staring down on the rooftops from a mountain crag that he can almost touch with his hands, may need to follow a path that takes him much further from town before bringing him closer to it (for instance, as the path winds slowly down the hill).

Most of Lewis's observations about love speak to all religious traditions as does, arguably, the recognition that human love longs for more than its natural forms. The final chapter "Charity" is the most explicitly Christian in worldview, and it is the most difficult to grasp. Lewis admits the possible imperfection of his own knowledge and that what he writes about are imagined experiences rather than real ones. He reflects, "Those like myself whose imagination far exceeds their obedience are subject to a just penalty; we easily imagine conditions far higher than any we have actually reached."

Lewis's _Four Loves_ brims with human insights about love. This is a short work, written in the style of a kind, wise friend sharing his thoughts on a walk or over an evening.
The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner: Worksheets, Checklists, Etiquette, Calendars, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner
  • not pleased
  • a good first choice
  • My Favorite Wedding Helper!
  • Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful
The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner: Worksheets, Checklists, Etiquette, Calendars, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Carley Roney
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767902475
Release Date: 1999-12-28

Amazon.com

This practical companion to The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World acts as a stand-alone guide to the nuts and bolts of planning a wedding. The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner is where the bride and groom can record wedding ideas, create budget guidelines, check items off their to-do list, generate the guest list, store contact information for their wedding vendors, and get tips and advice on the best way to plan their big day.

Chapter by chapter, the planner walks the bridal couple through each major step: for example, choosing the reception site, picking a photographer, and deciding on a menu. Author Carley Roney and the editors of The Knot Web site have talked with both wedding professionals and hundreds of thousands of brides and grooms, and have a good idea of the necessary ingredients for a successful wedding. Most helpful and thorough are each chapter's "Questions to Ask" checklists and the "Knot Knowledge" tips, which include money-saving ideas. The book also contains a gift log, a budget tracker, and a wedding-day phone contacts sheet.

Roney offers loads of helpful advice, such as recommending that the bride and groom declare "wedding free zones" where the couple makes time for activities together that have nothing to do with planning the wedding. Each chapter also includes her down-to-earth answers to commonly asked questions, such as whether it's appropriate for a relative to host a shower or if the wedding couple should pay for guests' travel expenses. With all of its tips, advice, and organizers, The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner may just be, next to a wedding coordinator, the best way for modern couples to ensure their wedding is a smoothly run, stress-free affair. --Kris Law

Book Description

From the author of The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World, a thoroughly modern, must-have workbook to help you pull off the perfect wedding.

With so many nerve-wracking details to tend to, planning the perfect wedding can seem an impossible task. Now The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner guides you step-by-step through the countless stages of planning your big day. Packed with easy-to-follow checklists and worksheets, and the hip, insightful wisdom that has made theknot.com an indispensable resource for millions of couples worldwide, The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner provides:

A one-year calendar with monthly and weekly to-do lists leading up to the moment of marriage
Worksheets to help you:

Organize the attendants, the guest list, and the invitations        
Design the ceremony--from the site and officiant to the dress
Arrange the reception--from the cake and caterer to the music and the photographer

Checklists to keep track of finances, contracts, and post-marriage legalities
Money-saving tips and answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner.......2007-09-24

I thought this book was very good. It has a list of things that I never thought of and the worksheets are great. The only thing that would have been an added bonus was a place to keep documents within the book. However, for first time brides as myself this book was much needed.

1 out of 5 stars not pleased.......2007-08-24

I was not pleased with this - the inside was black and white - very text heavy. Who has time to read all those annoying lists when they're getting married? They want to look at pretty things and keep things organized. I ended up giving it away.

4 out of 5 stars a good first choice.......2007-08-23

I liked this book but bought the 3 ring binder and didnt have much use for it.

4 out of 5 stars My Favorite Wedding Helper!.......2007-07-31

While this book wasn't the "end all" to planning my wedding, it gave a great basic overview that helped me not to forget things. It is full of wonderful worksheets that proved more helpful than I realized at the time; without them I wouldn't have been able to remain on budget. I really recomend it, because it helps you know what percentage of your budget you should spend on different parts of your wedding (for example, if you have a budget of $15,000, and flowers should be 5% of your budget, then you know that you can plan to spend $750 on flowers and still be in budget.) They even broke it down further so that you knew what expenses fell into the "flower" category (alter flowers, boquets, corsages, decorative flowers for the reception hall, etc.) I loved it!

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful Wonderful Wonderful.......2007-05-04

This was the best wedding book yet which I'm still using it I loved all of the worksheet I even copyed them onto my scanner and printed them in different colors so I could keep better organized.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Ugh. Save your money.
  • slow at times
  • Highly Recommended!
  • Easy reading style, uninspiring content
  • FUNNY BUT NOT ENOUGH!
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Elizabeth Gilbert
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670034711

Book Description

description: ìutterly consumed with dread.î) I was trying to convince myself that my feelings were customary, despite all evidence to the contraryósuch as the acquaintance Iíd run into last week whoíd just discovered that she was pregnant for the first time, after spending two years and a kingís ransom in fertility treatments. She was ecstatic. She had wanted to be a mother forever, she told me. She admitted sheíd been secretly buying baby clothes for years and hiding them under the bed, where her husband wouldnít find them. I saw the joy in her face and I recognized it. This was the exact joy my own face had radiated last spring, the day I discovered that the magazine I worked for was going to send me on assignment to New Zealand, to write an article about the search for giant squid. And I thought, ìUntil I can feel as ecstatic about having a baby as I felt about going to New Zealand to search for a giant squid, I cannot have a baby.î

I donít want to be married anymore.

In daylight hours, I refused that thought, but at night it would consume me. What a catastrophe. How could I be such a criminal jerk as to proceed this deep into a marriage, only to leave it? Weíd only just bought this house a year ago. Hadnít I wanted this nice house? Hadnít I loved it? So why was I haunting its halls every night now, howling like Medea? Wasnít I proud of all weíd accumulatedóthe prestigious home in the Hudson Valley, the apartment in Manhattan, the eight phone lines, the friends and the picnics and the parties, the weekends spent roaming the aisles of some box-shaped superstore of our choice, buying ever more appliances on credit? I had actively participated in every moment of the creation of this lifeóso why did I feel like none of it resembled me? Why did I feel so overwhelmed with duty, tired of being the primary breadwinner and the housekeeper and the social coordinator and the dog-walker and the wife and the soon-to- be mother, andósomewhere in my stolen momentsóa writer ...?

I donít want to be married anymore.

My husband was sleeping in the other room, in our bed. I equal parts loved him and could not stand him. I couldnít wake him to share in my distressówhat would be the point? Heíd already been watching me fall apart for months now, watching me behave like a madwoman (we both agreed on that word), and I only exhausted him. We both knew there was something wrong with me, and heíd been losing patience with it. Weíd been fighting and crying, and we were weary in that way that only a couple whose marriage is collapsing can be weary. We had the eyes of refugees.

The many reasons I didnít want to be this manís wife anymore are too personal and too sad to share here. Much of it had to do with my problems, but a good portion of our troubles were related to his issues, as well. Thatís only natural; there are always two figures in a marriage, after allótwo votes, two opinions, two conflicting sets of decisions, desires and limitations. But I donít think itís appropriate for me to discuss his issues in my book. Nor would I ask anyone to believe that I am capable of reporting an unbiased version of our story, and therefore the chronicle of our marriageís failure will remain untold here. I also will not discuss here all the reasons why I did still want to be his wife, or all his wonderfulness, or why I loved him and why I had married him and why I was unable to imagine life without him. I wonít open any of that. Let it be sufficient to say that, on this night, he was still my lighthouse and my albatross in equal measure. The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving. I didnít want to destroy anything or anybody. I just wanted to slip quietly out the back door, without causing any fuss or consequences, and then not stop running until I reached Greenland.

This part of my story is not a happy one, I know. But I share it here because something was about to occur on that bathroom floor that would change forever the progression of my lifeóalmost like one of those crazy astronomical super-events when a planet flips over in outer space for no reason whatsoever, and its molten core shifts, relocating its poles and altering its shape radically, such that the whole mass of the planet suddenly becomes oblong instead of spherical. Something like that.

What happened was that I started to pray.

You knowólike, to God.

3 Now, this was a first for me. And since this is the first time I have introduced that loaded wordóGODóinto my book, and since this is a word which will appear many times again throughout these pages, it seems only fair that I pause here for a moment to explain exactly what I mean when I say that word, just so people can decide right away how offended they need to get.

Saving for later the argument about whether God exists at all (noóhereís a better idea: letís skip that argument completely), let me first explain why I use the word God, when I could just as easily use the words Jehovah, Allah, Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu or Zeus. Alternatively, I could call God ìThat,î which is how the ancient Sanskrit scriptures say it, and which I think comes close to the all-inclusive and unspeakable entity I have sometimes experienced. But that ìThatî feels impersonal to meóa thing, not a beingóand I myself cannot pray to a That. I need a proper name, in order to fully sense a personal attendance. For this same reason, when I pray, I do not address my prayers to The Universe, The Great Void, The Force, The Supreme Self, The Whole, The Creator, The Light, The Higher Power, or even the most poetic manifestation of Godís name, taken, I believe, from the Gnostic gospels: ìThe Shadow of the Turning.î

I have nothing against any of these terms. I feel they are all equal because they are all equally adequate and inadequate descriptions of the indescribable. But we each do need a functional name for this indescribability, and ìGodî is the name that feels the most warm to me, so thatís what I use. I should also confess that I generally refer to God as ìHim,î which doesnít bother me because, to my mind, itís just a convenient personalizing pronoun, not a precise anatomical description or a cause for revolution. Of course, I donít mind if people call God ìHer,î and I understand the urge to do so. Againóto me, these are both equal terms, equally adequate and inadequate. Though I do think the capitalization of either pronoun is a nice touch, a small politeness in the presence of the divine.

Culturally, though not theologically, Iím a Christian. I was born a Protestant of the white Anglo- Saxon persuasion. And while I do love that great teacher of peace who was called Jesus, and while I do reserve the right to ask myself in certain trying situations what indeed He would do, I canít swallow that one fixed rule of Christianity insisting that Christ is the only path to God. Strictly speaking, then, I cannot call myself a Christian. Most of the Christians I know accept my feelings on this with grace and open-mindedness. Then again, most of the Christians I know donít speak very strictly. To those who do speak (and think) strictly, all I can do here is offer my regrets for any hurt feelings and now excuse myself from their business.

Traditionally, I have responded to the transcendent mystics of all religions. I have always responded with breathless excitement to anyone who has ever said that God does not live in a dogmatic scripture or in a distant throne in the sky, but instead abides very close to us indeedó much closer than we can imagine, breathing right through our own hearts. I respond with gratitude to anyone who has ever voyaged to the center of that heart, and who has then returned to the world with a report for the rest of us that God is an experience of supreme love. In every religious tradition on earth, there have always been mystical saints and transcendents who report exactly this experience. Unfortunately many of them have ended up arrested and killed. Still, I think very highly of them.

In the end, what I have come to believe about God is simple. Itís like thisóI used to have this really great dog. She came from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people asked me, ìWhat kind of dog is that?î I would always give the same answer: ìSheís a brown dog.î Similarly, when the question is raised, ìWhat kind of God do you believe in?î my answer is easy: ìI believe in a magnificent God.î

4 Of course, Iíve had a lot of time to formulate my opinions about divinity since that night on the bathroom floor when I spoke to God directly for the first time. In the middle of that dark November crisis, though, I was not interested in formulating my views on theology. I was interested only in saving my life. I had finally noticed that I seemed to have reached a state of hopeless and life-threatening despair, and it occurred to me that sometimes people in this state will approach God for help. I think Iíd read that in a book somewhere.

What I said to God through my gasping sobs was something like this: ìHello, God. How are you? Iím Liz. Itís nice to meet you.î

Thatís rightóI was speaking to the creator of the universe as though weíd just been introduced at a cocktail party. But we work with what we know in this life, and these are the words I always use at the beginning of a relationship. In fact, it was all I could do to stop myself from saying, ìIíve always been a big fan of your work ...î

ìIím sorry to bother you so late at night,î I continued. ìBut Iím in serious trouble. And Iím sorry I havenít ever spoken directly to you before, but I do hope I have always expressed ample gratitude for all the blessings that youíve given me in my life.î

This thought caused me to sob even harder. God waited me out. I pulled myself together enough to go on: ìI am not an expert at praying, as you know. But can you please help me? I am in desperate need of h...

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Ugh. Save your money........2007-10-04

Don't even bother to read from the library. A self-centered story that is a perfect example of much of what is wrong with our culture.

4 out of 5 stars slow at times.......2007-10-04

I enjoyed the read although sometimes it really dragged, particularly her time at the Yoga retreat in India. The time she spends in Italy though, doing nothing but indulging herself with food is a riot.

5 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!.......2007-10-03

Intelligently written. That is how FABULOUS this book is! I can't wait to share this book with my friends! Entertaining and fun read! When I bought this book I also took the How to be a Super Hot Woman: 339 Tips to Make Every Man Fall in Love with You and Every Woman Envy You and I am very happy to have read both books!

1 out of 5 stars Easy reading style, uninspiring content.......2007-10-03

Her writing style is fluid, but her precious self-indulgence made it a painful read and embodies the entitlement "all-about-me" vein in the current culture in North America. That this book is currently #4 on the Amazon best-seller list is disheartening because it reminds me of how this generation of women in America could make a difference but instead are focused on getting their lattes in their SUVs on their way to yoga class. Me, me, me! Try reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson to see what one person can accomplish in the world as a stark contrast to Gilbert's self-centered story.

2 out of 5 stars FUNNY BUT NOT ENOUGH!.......2007-10-02

I thought the writing was entertaining and very genuine but not mature enough. I couldn't wait to finish the book .... I had to scan through the last few pages.
The Honeymoon's Over: True Stories of Love, Marriage, and Divorce
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good to know we all have the same issues
  • Straight Talk About Marriage
  • The Honeymoon's Over
  • Great Book
  • BRUTALLY HONEST
The Honeymoon's Over: True Stories of Love, Marriage, and Divorce
Andrea Chapin , and Sally Wofford-Girand
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  5. Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire, Deceit, and Devotion Modern Love: 50 True and Extraordinary Tales of Desire, Deceit, and Devotion

ASIN: 0446580007

Book Description

Isabel Rose saw red flags before her marriage, but everyonethought she'd made a perfect match. Ann Hood's relationship with herhusband had the usual bumps, until the tragic death of her young daughterforged their bond for life. When Terry McMillan went through her publicdivorce, the trauma affected everyone in her life. While Joyce Maynardcared for her dying mother, her children's babysitter took even better careof her husband. Andrea Chapin, after years of money battles with hermusician husband, realized she had to become the mogul in the family. AnnieEchols found her marriage on the rocks when an unexpected pregnancy upsether family's delicate balance. In THE HONEYMOON'S OVER, women candidlydiscuss the good times, the bad times, and what makes or breaks a marriagein essays that will resonate with readers--married, single, or divorced.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Good to know we all have the same issues.......2007-08-01

Short stories that are well presented and represent a host of situations - so one (or more) of them should apply to everyone who's been married. Nice to help you keep perspective, lots of different writing styles. Good to read 1-2 stories at a time and process what they have to offer.

4 out of 5 stars Straight Talk About Marriage.......2007-07-02

Love, marriage, divorce. For those of us who have loved or are still
loving, have been married or still married, been divorced or are going
through a divorce, we have our own love, marriage, and divorce stories
to tell. However, In The Honeymoon's Over, Chapman and Wofford-Grand
have carefully edited and compiled some of the best stories on these
three issues.

Reading each of these stories is like listening to your sisterfriend
while sipping coffee or tea. The authors are storytellers, telling
their stories in a very fluid and conversational style. Easy to read
and understand, these stories are well-written, emotional and very
revealing. You can almost feel their pain, cry their tears, and
rejoice in their decisions. After you have read these stories,
you can think about each author's perspective of love, herself,
relationships and her future. You may even think about which story
applies to you.

Although each story is distinctive in terms of the author, her story
and her writing style, the themes and the storytelling style unite
these stories into this unique book. At least one story will appeal
to every reader. The reader may be able to even identify with an
author or two. These women are sharing their stories, and
telling ours, too. I recommend reading this book.

Karen Lemmons
APOOO Bookclub

3 out of 5 stars The Honeymoon's Over.......2007-05-20

This was not what I thought it would be. Although, there were some interesting stories, I was somewhat dissapointed.

4 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2007-04-10

This book is very well written. Definitely speaks volumes about relationships. But be ready to have the tissues on hand. :)

5 out of 5 stars BRUTALLY HONEST.......2007-03-03

I absolutely loved this book, and I am keeping it becauseI know I will read it again. As I approach my 27th wedding anniversary I feel as though I know quite a bit about what makes a marriage worth hanging on to. Nobody is married for a long time without going through major bumps in the road but many of the stories in this collection illustrate how rewarding it is to stick it out - what you end up with is so special that it is difficult to describe. Of course, not every relationship has a happy ending and I enjoyed those essays also. My personal favorite? The Electric Husband - hilarious.

P.S. Terry McMillan's rage is hurting her MUCH, MUCH more than her ex-husband - anger is human but if you don't let go of it you will be poisoned by it.
All About Us
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Great wedding shower gift
  • Great Book!
  • hmm
  • Not very helpful
  • Didn't get very far...
All About Us
Philipp Keel
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:
  1. All About Me All About Me
  2. What I Love About You What I Love About You
  3. Book of Us: The Journal of Your Love Story in 150 Questions Book of Us: The Journal of Your Love Story in 150 Questions
  4. All About Me Teenage Edition: The Story of Your Life All About Me Teenage Edition: The Story of Your Life
  5. The Book of Questions: Love & Sex The Book of Questions: Love & Sex

ASIN: 0767905016
Release Date: 2000-01-11

Book Description

The author of the phenomenally popular All About Me now presents a powerfully revealing book for couples, filled with thought-provoking questions to capture your relationship in a meaningful yet fun way.

All About Me has given thousands of readers insight into the thoughts, feelings, and events that uniquely shape their lives. Now Philipp Keel has created an even more personal collection of fascinating questions--a fun, non-threatening tool designed to help couples deepen their relationships.

Unlike dry record books that merely account for dates and names, All About Us gets to the heart of the matter by asking the questions that partners may be desperately curious about but hesitant to bring up, such as: If you could change one of your partner's body parts, what would it be? You have drawn blood in a fight with an ex (yes/no). Name a habit of your partner that you have proudly accepted.

With questions about romance and sex, daily routines and the life of your dreams, All About Us will help you and your partner discover more about yourselves and each other than you ever imagined possible. Whether you fill it out together, separately, or ask and answer questions aloud, this unique book will help you to deepen your relationship and discover that, once again, love is the answer.

All About Us brings a new level of honesty and self-revelation to all couples. Destined to become the must-have gift for weddings, Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and any occasion with someone special, this is an irresistible treasure. -->

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Great wedding shower gift.......2007-06-27

I gave this as a wedding shower gift and it went over very well. Lots of questions for the couple to answer on their honeymoon and beyond.

4 out of 5 stars Great Book!.......2007-02-24

My finacee and I have had this book for a couple of years now and we take it along with us on road trips. It is really great. There are questions that you never thought of asking and they provoke very important conversation....Strongly recommend to couples that want to strengthen there bond.

3 out of 5 stars hmm.......2007-01-23

I liked the concept of the book, obviously that's why I bought it. But, by the time I got to the middle(I've bought this twic for two different relationships), my relationship was broken off. It was just time consuming...

2 out of 5 stars Not very helpful.......2007-01-10

The book didn't really do anything for us. A lot of the questions were just weird and not particularly helpful with respect to building a relationship and getting to know your partner better. I didn't think it was worth the money.

3 out of 5 stars Didn't get very far..........2006-10-28

I saw this book at the store and thought it would be a good idea for my boyfriend and I (2 years)to get to know each other better and communicate better, includung the little stuff. We only got a couple pages in before we had an argument. I plan on using white out on the questions about touchy subjects, especially in the "Before Us" section. What does that really have to do with "all about us"?
Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love" -The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin (1931-1932)
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Wow!
  • Brutally and beautifully honest!
  • If D.H. Lawrence were a barracuda. . .you'd have anais nin.
  • It's alright
  • The sexual awakening of Anais Nin
Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love" -The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin (1931-1932)
Anais Nin
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Nin, AnaisNin, Anais | ( N ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:
  1. Incest: From "A Journal of Love" -The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin (1932-1934) Incest: From "A Journal of Love" -The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin (1932-1934)
  2. The Diary of Anais Nin: Vol. 1 (1931-1934) The Diary of Anais Nin: Vol. 1 (1931-1934)
  3. Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Cancer
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  5. Fire: From "A Journal of Love" The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1934-1937 Fire: From "A Journal of Love" The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1934-1937

ASIN: 015640057X

Book Description

This bestseller covers a single momentous year during Nin’s life in Paris, when she met Henry Miller and his wife, June. “Closer to what many sexually adventuresome women experience than almost anything I’ve ever read....I found it a very erotic book and profoundly liberating” (Alice Walker). The source of a major motion picture from Universal. Preface by Rupert Pole; Index.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Wow!.......2007-10-03

From the very first few pages you know that you have entered a fascinating world -- if you are reading these reviews and haven't yet purchased the book, don't wait any longer. It's an easy read -- you should be able to read it in one setting -- maybe one weekend, and you will be totally amazed.

This diary only covers one year, but it is clearly her "coming-of-age" year.

5 out of 5 stars Brutally and beautifully honest!.......2007-02-16

A very honest account of a very dishonest period in Nin's life. Highly entertaining, at times liberating (at least for women) and often times very scary (mostly for men). Psychologically fascinating! Interesting peak into Henry Miller's life.

3 out of 5 stars If D.H. Lawrence were a barracuda. . .you'd have anais nin........2006-11-02

Read this interspaced with Tropic of Cancer. You find a more accurate image of Henry Miller's second wife/muse June this way.

I love Nin's work, especially the vast prose of House of Incest. However, at this point in her writing, I just see her clutching copies of D.H. Lawrence's works and using her sexuality to figure out the rest.

I empathize more with the June who inspired the myths, rather than the sanquinary authors lusting after her degredation and ruin. . .and lastly, her love.

Nin was a rebirth to water in terms of literature and her timeframe on earth, but she was flawed. However she was never destroyed by her flaws. A psychic vampire way beyond Warhol proportions, I still adore her.

This is just my vision of the artist. Don't be lazy. Read for yourself. Research in spite of what you read.

2 out of 5 stars It's alright.......2005-09-25

The main thing to remember about this book is that it is a journal. So if you are looking for a beginning, middle and end you won't find it here. I kind of felt like "what is the point?" after I read it. It was also hard for me to understand how Anais Nin could write all these words of love about Henry Miller. I tried to read Miller's TROPIC OF CAPRICORN but I had to stop because he is such a misogynistic jerk. I couldn't believe the feelings of hate he had towards his poor first wife, and the way that he saw all women as trash. I had a hard time not thinking that Anais Nin was crazy to risk her marriage to a wonderful man for a horrible man like Miller. This is not a great book, but the one good thing about it is that it is very sensual and erotic.

5 out of 5 stars The sexual awakening of Anais Nin.......2004-03-15

Anais Nin is the author of over a dozen novels and a very famous diary that is now available in "expurgated" and "unexpurgated" form. All of her works concern one primary theme: women attempting to understand themselves and to make themselves complete human beings after having been psychologically and emotionally stunted in early life. An understanding of Anais Nin's life reveals why this theme preoccupied her: she had a very painful childhood. Her mother married a younger man of lower social pedigree, the parents were in constant conflict (" ... in the house there was always war: great explosions of anger, hatred, revolt. War." - WINTER OF ARTIFICE), her father frequently beat the children and allegedly molested Anais Nin, and her parents eventually separated. The mother took 11-year-old Anais and her two brothers, and the four moved from France to New York. It was on the ship that carried them to their new country that Anais began her diary.

Anais Nin did not keep a diary in the conventional sense, jotting down things that happened to her on a particular day and then offering a few reflections and interpretations. Rather, she portrayed her life in her diary as an unfolding story, positioning herself as the main character of course. The diary became not a mere reflection of her life, but an intense focus of her life. It was as if things had not really happened until she had written them down and read them back to herself. Nin explained that viewing her life as a story made bearable occurrences that would otherwise devastate her. The diary therefore gave her a sense of control over her life (remember, this was the 1930s when women had far less control over their lives than they do now). And as with the fiction, the search for self-understanding and completeness dominated the story she told the diary.

HENRY AND JUNE, based on the diaries 32 through 36, finds Anais Nin in her late 20s and early 30s living outside of Paris with her husband, banker Hugo Guiler. Anais is bored with life and feels unfulfilled, for while Hugo's substantial paycheck can afford a glamorous home, what she longs for is excitement and to be a part of the literary world, not an ornamental and silent companion to social functions. Luckily, she soon meets an unknown writer named Henry Miller. He is opposite to her husband in just about every way: he's older, penniless, irresponsible, and like Anais he is interested in literature, as well as that other Nin preoccupation: sex. (A perhaps revealing detail is that Hugo, though well endowed, occasionally struggled with impotence.) In fact, Miller has been working on a manuscript for about a year. The rest, as they say, is history ... a history revealed in HENRY AND JUNE that I do not want to spoil for the prospective reader. You'll have to get the book. But I must suggest that while reading HENRY AND JUNE it may be beneficial to view the story in the context of Anais Nin's prime preoccupation: the search for completion after having been emotionally stunted in early life. Indeed, on the very first page of the book, Anais tells her cousin, "I need an older man, a father...."

Andrew Parodi
Book of Us: A JOURNAL OF YOUR LOVE STORY IN 150 QUESTIONS
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great gift
  • Love it!
  • Indefinitely Sweet
  • Great Gift Idea!
  • Book Of Us Review
Book of Us: A JOURNAL OF YOUR LOVE STORY IN 150 QUESTIONS
David Marshall , and Kate Marshall
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  5. The Story of a Lifetime: A Keepsake of Personal Memoirs The Story of a Lifetime: A Keepsake of Personal Memoirs

ASIN: 078686477X

Amazon.com

For the diehard romantic, there may be nothing so thrilling as chronicling that one true love. The Book of Us presents 150 topics on the subject--ranging from "Before I met you, my love life was..." to "One of the reasons I think we lasted so long as a couple is that..." Like David Marshall's earlier book, The Book of Myself, which is also a keepsake, this book makes us wish it were prettier. But it is the thought that counts, and a lot of thought will go into turning these empty pages into something a spouse, one's children, and then their children will cherish. And not to fear: While this is a very sweet book, there is also plenty of room here to ruminate on the less saccharine aspects of life partnership: financial crises, humorous escapades, parenting woes, and home-improvement projects. A word to gay readers: One of the book's five sections focuses on "Tying the Knot"; some of the questions specifically address elements such as the bachelor party and the wedding dress, but most of the questions are generic enough to apply to any type of commitment ceremony. --Jane Steinberg

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great gift.......2007-07-30

My husband bought this for me, I just love it. It is broken up by sections, dating, wedding, first year of marriage, middle years, later years. I think its such a neat way to keep track of things that go on in your relationship. We will have it for years to come and our grandkids can read funny stories that we would have otherwise forgotten.
It is a very thoughtful wedding/shower or anniversary gift.

4 out of 5 stars Love it!.......2007-01-11

I wrote in this book for a few months before giving it as a birthday gift to my fiance on his birthday, he loved it and spent the next few nights reading it before bedtime. He was very surprised that I had spend time writing it in all my feeling for him when I first saw him and how I felt, made him feel very special. He still keeps in on his night stand even 2 yrs later. Love the book, helps to tell someone how you feel. Great questions and lots of room to write, really helps your feeling come out.

4 out of 5 stars Indefinitely Sweet.......2007-01-09

It's not exactly what I was expecting, but it definitely was a sweet surprise. I really liked it. One of the things that probably made it difficult to fill out is that the questions were asking for details and there wasn't enough room to write. Some of the questions were worded a bit odd as well. Overall, I liked the book.

5 out of 5 stars Great Gift Idea!.......2007-01-05

I bought this book for my husband for our first married Christmas together. As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, it's only interesting if you fill it out for the person you're giving it to...they get the joy of reading your interpretation of various situations and moments of your life together. I think it's a great guide to recording your history as a couple and fully intend to keep filling it out as we progress!

4 out of 5 stars Book Of Us Review.......2006-11-10

I bought this for my husband for our 10th anniversary and he loved it! I had completed the entire book before I gave it to him and it is a great thing to pass on to your kids.
I also bought one for my parents to fill out. They have been married for 42 years and are having a BLAST filling it out together!
What I Love About You
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great Bridal Shower Gift
  • What I Love About You
  • Great Book, Great Condition, Fast Delivery!
  • A Lot of Fun
  • Kinda cute
What I Love About You
Kate Marshall , and David Marshall
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Love & RomanceLove & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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  5. Our Wedding Anniversary Memory Book Our Wedding Anniversary Memory Book

ASIN: 0767923154
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

What I Love About You offers a fresh way to say "I love you."

This fill-in-the-blank book prompts you to say what is in your heart, but may not always be at the tip of your tongue. Tell the most important person in your life just how much they mean to you by completing the scores of unique, evocative checklists, short answers, and phrases in this attractive gift book:

If we'd first met in a comic strip, the thought bubble over my head would have said...
I adore this little daily ritual or habit we have...
One of your most irresistible physical features is...
I missed you when...

Playful, tender, and personal, this is the perfect gift for the person in your life who makes your pulse race.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Bridal Shower Gift.......2007-10-04

If you are looking to by someone a unique gift for their bridal shower this is definitely a great idea. I receieved it for mine and am trying to complete it for my new husband for our first married Christmas together.

5 out of 5 stars What I Love About You.......2007-08-03

The book was a great idea for my husband on our first anniversary. It took a while to fill the book out but, it was easy to fill out. He loved reading through the book.

4 out of 5 stars Great Book, Great Condition, Fast Delivery!.......2007-07-30

I am very happy with the book, and with the condition in which I received it. I am looking forward to filling it in with my personal input. I am giving it to my husband for our 2-year wedding anniversary, and it is exactly what I expected it to be.

4 out of 5 stars A Lot of Fun.......2007-05-14

If you want a way for the significant other in your life to get to know you better this is a great way to do that.

4 out of 5 stars Kinda cute.......2007-02-22

I gave this to my bf for V-day this year and he really enjoyed reading though it. It took me over 3 hours to fill it out b/c you have to think of stories, memories, etc from your relationship. I've been dating him for a year and a half, but I think this book is more geared toward those who have been in a relationship longer or are married.
I Know You Really Love Me: A Psychiatrist's Journal of Erotomania, Stalking, and Obsessive Love
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Great subject; horrid writing.
  • Not just frightening for women!
  • A Must-Read for ALL young women. It can happen to anyone.
  • I must read this again!
  • AN EXCEPTIONAL JOURNEY INTO THE MIND & HEART
I Know You Really Love Me: A Psychiatrist's Journal of Erotomania, Stalking, and Obsessive Love
Doreen R./Orion,Doreen Orion
Manufacturer: Macmillan General Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  1. The Gift of Fear. Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence. The Gift of Fear. Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence.
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ASIN: 0028616650

Book Description

Erotomania is the mental disorder of obsessive stalkersthe delusional belief that their victims are actually in love with them. This unique account by a psychiatrist who became the victim of her own patient provides a thorough examination of this often misunderstood disease. I Know You Really Love Me unfolds like a psychological thriller, as Dr. Orion first finds herself the subject of obsessive love and then unsuccessfully tries to free herself of her patient, a demanding, manipulative woman who doggedly follows Orion from state to state and continues to stalk her to this dayseven years and counting. The author honestly explores her own experience while also providing an overview of this mental illness, including:c fascinating case histories and personal accounts of other victims, including a woman rabbi, a priest, a doctor, a fashion designerc cases that led to murder, some of the victim, some of the stalkerc protective measures to deter a potential stalker or erotomanicc the need for adequate treatment and punishment of erotomanicsc information on anti-stalking laws and ways to strengthen themc organizations that assist victimsThe first book devoted entirely to erotomania, I Know You Really Love Me will be of interest to those in psychiatry and the medical profession, victims, and the public at large, well-acquainted with this disease (though probably not with its name) through chilling media reports of

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Great subject; horrid writing........2007-08-04

I bought and read this book when it first came out, and promptly returned it to the publisher for a refund. It was riddled with misspellings, poor syntax, and bad punctuation. If the physician-author wrote the book that way, shame on her. If the publisher hired someone to proofread and edit this book, they failed miserably: these were the errors I'd expect to see from a third-grader; not someone who purportedly has at least a four-year college degree.

If you're curious about this phenomenon, there are other, better-written books to be had.

5 out of 5 stars Not just frightening for women!.......2000-05-20

As a male Sophomore in college reading this book I was thoroghly terrified! It is noted that this does not just happen to women, but to men as well. Many times after reading this book was I looking around my car before getting into it, just making sure Fran Nightingale wasn't lurking behind it! Genuinly frightening (moreso because its a true story) read for either gender!

4 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for ALL young women. It can happen to anyone........1999-05-11

This is the first real Pop-psych book that describes the Stalking Phenomenon in correct and accurate Mental Health language. This book was recommended to me by a City Prosecuter who felt it would help me understand why My Ex-boyfriend stalked me with the aid of his new wife (of all people!). Stalking is NOT just ex-boyfriends and Yes, women can become erotically obsessed with other women in a non-sexual manner OR, as in my case, they can be motivated to carry on an Erotomanic pursuit of a target whom their lover has been stalking which can resultin a whole new range of Stalking behavior. This particular book deals with a Patient stalking her Psychiatrist with whom she has become obsessed - a common subset of Erotomania. However, the book also attempts and manages to cover pretty well the basics of Erotomaniacally motivated Stalkings in general which makes it a valuable addition to anyone's Library. ANYONE can become a target and Young Women should read a book like this before they leave home or college to enter the workforce. Even that may not be soon enough since I know of a few cases where friends of mine have had their highschool and junior high aged daughters subjected to such behavior. Even so.. I feel it is fair to say this is an essential book for Young Women. Men of all ages should and can read this as well, but statisically, women are at a higher risk which is why I singled them out as a group.

What really makes this book work is that the writer has been targetted herself which permits her to identify with her reader in a way that she could not if she were merely a Clinician attempting to describe this illness or a law enforcement official trying to describe how to deal with it via the Legal System. The sad facts are that your friends and family will usually NOT understand what you are going through and many people will wonder if perhaps you yourself have done something to set the erotomaniac off. Another sad fact is that going to the Law may cause an escalation in the Stalking and you may also be greeted with the preconceived notion again that the victim has done something to encourage the mentally ill Stalker. Since the author has lived with a longterm, dedicated Stalker, she is able to relate and describe the specific brand of terror you feel under the circumstances. If you have never, for example, lived peacefully and proserously for, oh, a year maybe 18 months only to look up one day and see your old Stalker smiling at you from across the street from your new home in a new town in a new State under an unlisted number without your name on the lease, you won't be able to speak to the audience for this book.

Now that I have communicated her closeness to the subject let me say just this: The police generally don't understand Stalkers so if you are being Stalked, it is now YOUR job to learn to understand their behavior as best you can. This book and Gavin DeBecker's THE GIFT OF FEAR will give you a good start. Once you have these two under your belt, you will begin to see that there is no real effective system in place for dealing with Erotomania when it intrudes on your life in a criminal manner and therefore you must make some careful choices as to how to react or whether to react at all. In my own case, My longterm Stalker seeks attention to his and his wife's actions towards me. If I react by calling the police or filing reports of restraining order violations, they go into full steam ahead mode as opposed to when I choose not to react and they eventually get bored by my refusal to bat the tennis ball back into their court an they quiet down for a few months. I feel one of the best messages of this book is to give you, the reader, a Psychiatric portrait of this illness instead of the usual folk wisdom stuff we are fed by the daytime talk-shows, the local news and via hand-me down info from friends and family who have brushed up against Stalkings. This is a valuable book and tool in your own fight to arm yourself with info and preserve your own sanity by learning about that peculiar brand of metally ill person who has either already made you the most important thing in their life or might at some point in the future. Good luck. Be safe. Remember, you are your own best protector.

5 out of 5 stars I must read this again!.......1997-08-12

I applaude Dr. Orion's courage in writing this book. Her personal eight year experience with her stalker, police departments, and the court system has brought forth a book that is both informative and enjoyable to read. I only wish that I had this information 2 years ago. I hope that "I Know You Really Love Me" will be the stepping stone in increasing the awareness of how prevalent stalking is for the average human. I am very proud of you for writing this book.

5 out of 5 stars AN EXCEPTIONAL JOURNEY INTO THE MIND & HEART.......1997-07-02

This is a remarkable book. We have all spent the last decade reading about stalking in the newspaper and watching TV news reports which give a tiny snapshot of this topic. Dr. Orion has given us the whole portrait, with meticulous brush-strokes that coney every nuance and subtlety of a problem that is anything but subtle. The book opens with a sentence that sets the stage beautifully: "I am a psychiatrist who has been having a long-term love affair with a former patient -- in her mind, that is." From there, Orion never loses compassion for the woman who has stalked her for years. She tells of her journey through fear, through the courts, through the actions and comments of her psychiatric peers, through police stations, law offices, frightening encounters at her home and office, and ultimately, to the place she has reached: the place of knowing of stalking from the inside out, as a mental-health expert, as a woman, and as a target. She moves from victim to victor, and the reader is taken along through wonderful writing that conjures the truth about stalking better than any news report or TV movie could ever hope to. Thus, we get the best gift: a learning experience we can enjoy along the way
The Other Woman's Guide to and from Infidelity: The Journal for Women in Affairs With Married Men
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • This is a must have for anyone in an extramarital affair
  • Helpful Guide
  • disappointing
The Other Woman's Guide to and from Infidelity: The Journal for Women in Affairs With Married Men
Elissa Gough
Manufacturer: Face Reality
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1891863037

Book Description

Face Reality Self-Reflecting Journals present proven ways of coping with betrayal for individuals affected in a variety of ways - spouse or partner, child or other family member, the "other man" or the "other woman," or the gay or lesbian lover. You'll learn what motivates betrayal and how to prevent it. A significant portion of each journal is devoted to suggestions on how to identify a troubled marriage or relationship and what can be done to restore it.

These materials are in no way a substitute for counseling and/or therapy. They act as their companions.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars This is a must have for anyone in an extramarital affair.......2003-03-01

I have been involved with a married man for almost 7 years and had two children with him. This journal was amazing for me. I thought I was the only woman who had been through an affair and felt the way I felt. I was so wrong! I highly recomend this journal but only if you are ready for soul searching.

4 out of 5 stars Helpful Guide.......2000-10-04

Unlike the last reviewer, I found this to be a helpful guide. I read Ms. Gough's book as well and I think one thing Ms. Gough seems to pride herself on is that she is not here to tell us what to do, but instead to give us information to help us make our own decisions. I didn't expect the journal to tell me whether or not it was right or wrong for me to be with my married lover.

Instead, it gave me a chance to express my feelings and then be able to go back and reflect on them at a later date so I could make my own decisions about what I wanted out of this relationship and my life. I took it with me to my therapist several times, and she also thought it was helpful.

I thought that this was a great way to journal, I am a person who has always wanted to journal, but needed some kind of structure to help me along with the process. I would definitely recommend this journal.

1 out of 5 stars disappointing.......2000-02-22

I expected more information than this book gave. I believe journaling is good to do, but without a therapist to keep you honest, it's very easy to write denials, fantasies and justifications. This book does not help the other woman whose relationship IS moving forward toward breakup of his marriage and probable union afterward. I would have liked more information on how to tell the difference between if it's real or a big mistake. There is just not enough information and mostly blank pages. Save your money and get a blank book from the dollar store...

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