Marriage Magic! Find It, Keep It, Make It Last By Karen Sherman and Dale Klein AuthorHouse (2004) Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (1/06)

Despite the multitude of books about marriage and the easy availability of counseling, the American divorce rate hovers around fifty percent. Quite often an event or unacceptable behaviors prompt the dissolution, but just as often good marriages just wind down lost in the busyness of everyday life. Marriage Magic! offers a skills- based approach to fixing those types of marriagesones that grew stale because they became routine, became a lower priority than children and careers, became less than the expectations held early in the marriage.

Sherman and Klein open their book with a quiz that asks pertinent questions about your union helping you determine the level of your disenchantment. They follow with an explanation of how to use the book. Then they launch into part one which helps define what might make up your general dissatisfaction and help you to realize how your marriage reached this point.

In part two, the authors posit that you cant move toward a solution without actually understanding your perceptions, so they examine and identify the emotions that might be infusing your relationship. They scrutinize feelings of disappointment, hopelessness, hurt, apprehension, neglect, boredom, lack of romance, anger and more. Exercises to help you deal with your emotion follow each evaluation. These activities motivate you to engage your partner and to initiate and prompt change within the marriage.

Part three addresses communication concepts and tools that make it easier to carry out the exercises. A brief look at the differences between male and female communication styles remind couples to bridge the gaps.

Much of the information in Marriage Magic! isnt new, but is repackaged for drained couples who want to experience vigor in their marriages again. The authors target the audience well offering hope and enthusiasm for restoring marriage to its intended vitality.