Hold Me Tight, Seven
Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Dr. Sue Johnson
Reviewed by Tina Avon
Everybody has problems with relationships. Unfortunately,
there is no blueprint to the
perfect couple; however, Dr. Sue Johnson has written an informative,
practical
and helpful book that could very well help many, many of us with our
issues,
when it comes to living a healthy relationship with the other person.
In her book, Hold Me
Tight, Johnson pretty well banishes some of the more "standard"
approaches
to rebuilding and strengthening relationships - that is, she does not
necessarily stand by the old favorites such as:
look back at your childhood to find the root of your problems or
try new
sexual positions or even make overtly romantic and, most of the time,
unsustainable romantic gestures (flowers, candy, dinners). Rather,
couples need
to work on reestablishing the emotional connection they have with each
other -
of finding that deep down emotion that brought you to that particular
person in
the first place. We need to be open to
each other and to be able to really listen and understand the other
person.
Johnson introduces topics such as Demon Dialogues to
Forgiving Injuries and ties this in nicely with seven healing
conversations. I especially identified
with this part of the book as I realized that I hold resentment towards
my mate
for things that he did quite a while ago and that I never actually
opened up
about. This book made me stop and think
about my responsibility in the relationship.
It is always easier to blame the other person for the problems
and
issues that arise.
I always enjoy reading 'true life experiences’. It’s
comforting to me to see that I am not
the only one going through a particular event or situation. I always find the stories and the advice that
follows to be helpful and illuminating and fortunately, this book
contains
quite a few. The author has also
included some exercises which are very helpful, if a little
time-consuming.
This book was a tad long; however, the overall reading
experience has left me with lots of food for thought and a brand new
way of dealing
with my "better half". Now, if
I can get him to read the book - we are all set.