It Doesn't Have to Be So Hard

Overview

Two experts tackle the big questions about intimacy and relationships, in this book that aims to change how you think about long-term loveWe can't get enough of doomed lovers torn apart by betrayal, taboo, and violence—as long as they stay on the screen or the page. In our own beds we want the happy ending. But all around us, divorce statistics rocket as the hopes of lonely singles plummet. In an age of financial and political uncertainty, love is the only thing left to believe in. So why do we give up on it so easily? Through interlocking stories that are moving, funny, and all too familiar, Joanne Fedler and Graeme Friedman combine their years of personal and professional experience to tackle the toughest of questions around intimacy, such as How does romance sour into incompatibility? Are men really frightened by intimacy? Why don’t women understand that sex is intimacy? Is staying in an unhappy relationship better than being alone? How do we keep passion and intimacy alive with the same person over time?  Finding and keeping intimacy is a massive challenge, but it's not impossible, once you know the secrets.

Reviews

"Many readers will recognize characteristics of their own flawed relationships in these hypothetical vignettes, which serves the underlying premise of the book: that the feelings and behaviors which arise are universal, but how they are solved within each relationship is unique...even the most secure of couples will benefit from reading this offering."  —Publishers Weekly

Author Biography

Joanne Fedler is a creative writing teacher, a women's rights activist, and the author of Things Without a Name. Graeme Friedman is a clinical psychologist and an author.