Resources

General

Alternatives to Marriage Project – The Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP) is a national nonprofit organization advocating for equality and fairness for unmarried people, including people who are single, who choose not to marry, cannot marry, or live together before marriage.

The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center – The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center (NHMRC) is a clearinghouse for high quality, balanced, and timely information and resources on healthy marriage.

About.com: Marriage – Information and links related to all aspects of marriage.

Communication

Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender and Culture by Julia T. Wood, Chapter 9. An excellent discussion of gender socialization and “four primary dimensions of long-term love relationships: modes of expressiong care, needs for autonomy and connection, responsibility for relational maintenance and power,” in heteroseual and homosexual relationships.

Self-Actualization in Relationships

Leonardo da Vinci detail

“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” Leonardo Da Vinci

The Happy Marriage Is the ‘Me’ Marriage – An article from the NY Times of Jan. 2, 2011 by Tara Parker-Pope, about how “in modern relationships, people are looking for a partnership, and they want partners who make their lives more interesting.” The title is deceiving in that the article is really about the ways that people partner in making life more interesting for each other, and not about a narcissistic approach.

Money and Finances

The Six Financial Mistakes Couples Make– by Aleksandra Todorova in SmartMoney.com provides advice about organizing accounts, dealing with debt, spending styles, investing and other topics.

Finance And Romance: A Perfect Marriage? by Emma Johnson in Forbes.com discusses ways that effectively managing money can enhance your relationship.

Tricks of the Trade: Advice from Many Sources

Success in marriage hinges on consistent performance of six key habits by Rabbi Dov Heller, M.A. at aish.com. These hints include ideas like giving each other pleasure, creating mutually satisfying rituals, and turning toward each other rather than away.