Scott M. Stanley

For the past twenty-five years, the internationally renowned marital researchers from the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver have been helping couples around the globe replace loneliness with connection, frustration with understanding, fear with confidence, instability with commitment, revenge with forgiveness, and monotony with passion. Their program is called PREP®, short for the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program, and it's been so successful that its creators have been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, and 20/20, and its benefits have been documented in The New York Times, USA Today, Woman s Day, and Redbook. Until now the only way you could experience this winning twelve-hour program was to attend a weekend workshop. But now, with 12 Hours to a Great Marriage, you can discover the simple, effective strategies that have helped thousands of couples— happily married, having issues, or planning to marry— to develop and protect their love, easily and at your own pace. Each chapter covers one of the key ingredients of the program, like Being Best Friends, Having Fun Together, and Protecting and enhancing Your Love Life, and shows you how to take the steps that research shows are the basis for a long-term, healthy, loving marriage. By practicing the simple skills, taking the thought-provoking self-tests, doing the fun and innovative exercises, and reading real-life couples' inspiring and informative stories, you'll find that in twelve short hours you'll be well on your way to having that great marriage you've always dreamed of.

A major revision of the classic divorce prevention book, with up-to-date research and inclusive content Fighting for Your Marriage is based on the widely acclaimed PREP approach (Prevention and Relationship Education Program). Research has found that couples who use these strategies can handle conflict more constructively, protect their happiness, and reduce the odds of breaking up. Based on more than 40 years of evidence, this book shows couples how to talk more and fight less, protect their friendship, and keep the fun alive. You'll learn what it takes to have a more intimate, sensual relationship and how to clarify and act on priorities. The 4th Edition has been substantially updated with advice for couples from a wide range of backgrounds and types who are interested in lasting love. The authors have included a wealth of techniques and down-to-earth guidance for all couples who seek to promote greater connection and pleasure in their long-term relationships. After reading the 4th edition, you will be able to: Apply up-to-date, research-backed strategies, using the renowned PREP approach to deepen your relationshipsRekindle your marriage and bridge the emotional distance that has grown between you and your spouseRepair your or your partner's lack of desire for sensual and sexual connectionsGet research-based advice for enhancing and strengthening relationships for people who are interested in lasting love For decades, this book has helped couples in serious relationships, newly married couples, and long-term married couples. It is also a valuable resource for couples and family therapists, college professors, clergy, and other professionals working with diverse individuals and couples who want to have happy, healthy relationships.

The revised edition of the bestselling Christian guide to a happy marriage For more than fifteen years, Scott Stanley's A Lasting Promise has offered solutions to common problems—facing conflicts, problem solving, improving communication, and dealing with core issues—within a Christian framework. Thoroughly revised and updated, this new edition is filled with sacred teachings of scripture, the latest research on marriage, and clear examples from the lives of couples. The book's strategies are designed to help couples improve communication, understand commitment, bring more fun into their relationship, and enhance their sex lives. Lead author Scott Stanley is co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver and coauthor of Fighting for Your Marriage, which has sold more than a million copies. Offers reflections on how to enhance anyone's marriage over the long term and avoid divorce Covers recent cultural shifts, such as dealing with the endless technological distraction and issues with social networking New themes include the chemistry of love, the life-long implications of having bodies, and how to support one another emotionally Uses illustrative examples from couples’ lives and rich integration of insights from scripture This important book offers an invaluable resource for all couples who want to honor and preserve the holy sacrament of their union.

The Power of Commitment What is commitment and what's so scary about it? How can we better understand and appreciate the value of commitment and make it last--for a lifetime? In his new book, Scott Stanley, best-selling marriage expert, reveals that the secret ingredient for finding lasting love is understanding commitment. Too often, men and women find themselves in half-committed, Maybe I Do, relationships that lead to frustration, sadness, and, in many cases, divorce. But it doesn't have to be this way. Scott Stanley offers a five-step plan--based on his groundbreaking marital research and uniquely spiritual approach--for understanding commitment, including learning to handle the pressures of everyday life, moving through the pain of unfulfilled dreams and hopes, overcoming attraction to others that might endanger a marriage, transforming your thinking from "me versus you" to "we" and "us," and capturing the beauty and mystery of lifelong devotion, loyalty, teamwork, and building a lasting vision for the future. "Nobody is more qualified to write this book than Dr. Scott Stanley." --Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, Seattle Pacific University; authors, Love Talk "This book should be mandatory reading for dating, engaged, newlywed, and not-so-newlywed couples. Bravo!" --Michele Weiner-Davis, author, Divorce Busting and The Divorce Remedy

Fighting for Your African American Marriage gives you solid solutions to the challenges your marriage faces every day. The book contains a unique perspective and presents the powerful, proven strategies of the highly acclaimed PREP(Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) approach for helping black couples beat the odds and master the skills that can prevent marital distress and divorce.

Moving into parenthood is typically a time of great joy and excitement, but it also brings fatigue, stress, and conflict. From the authors of the best-selling Fighting for Your Marriage and A Lasting Promise, this unique and innovative guide offers indispensable advice on how to protect and preserve your marriage and take care of yourselves as you become parents. Based on scientific research and containing real-life examples, Becoming Parents challenges you to seize this opportunity to really thrive in your relationship and in parenting together as a team."If you're having a baby, buy this book! It will give your baby the most important gift of all-parents who know how to keep their relationship happy, satisfying, and stable-the kind of relationship your baby can count on and learn from."--Diane Sollee, director, Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education