The Road to Marital Success is Unpaved

This highly readable research-based book provides surprising answers to this simple question in plain language. Successfully married spouses have a realistic understanding of marriage and demonstrate effective marriage skills when compared to those in troubled marriages. The authors tell the reader those “secret” understandings of marriage, but more importantly, describe the skills needed to be successful and how to learn those skills.The book is a practical roadmap for married people to realize their dreams of a life-long marriage worth lasting. The book explodes myths about marriage, explains why the challenges and struggles of marriage are normal, how to get through them and reassures us that when a marriage is successful, the effort is worthwhile.The book treats marriage as a “game” and describes how to play it well and have fun playing it. The skills are presented as practical behaviours that can be learned and applied as soon as the next day. The skills turn many ideas about marriage, and even some expert advice, on their head, and while acknowledging that a successful marriage can seem magical, the book exposes the secrets and tricks behind the magic.This is a book for people starting out in a marriage, for people struggling in a troubled marriage, and even for people heading for divorce who would like to turn around their marriage. The book makes clear that reaching a successful marriage is not easy, but that most marriages can be successful. More importantly, the book offers hope and a practical “we can do it” and “here is how” approach.Finally, the book offers a roadmap to mental health counsellors (psychologists, marriage, child and family counsellors, social workers and other licensed counsellors), when working with clients who need help regarding their marital situation.

Ken Waldron is a psychologist who spent almost 40 years working in family and marital therapy and family law, in situations where spouses were going through or had gone through a divorce, or unmarried parents who had gone through a separation. He has provided extensive marital counselling and developed counselling approaches addressing interpersonal conflict based on science. He has studied both marriage and divorce, has done original research on relationship conflict and published extensively. He has also presented to other professionals around the United States and international audiences.

Allan R. Koritzinsky is a family law attorney, mediator and arbitrator, who has handled thousands of divorce cases over his 50-plus year career. He has also written, taught and spoken to professionals, law students and judicial groups across the country. He is a retired partner at Foley & Lardner LLP and was the former Chair of the Family Law Team. He focused his practice on divorce and family law. He has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin. He was named a Wisconsin Super Lawyer and listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He was a Lecturer/Instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He co-authored of Tax Strategies in Divorce, Divorce Practice Handbook, and Wisconsin Family Law Casenotes & Quotes. With Kenneth Waldron, he co-authored Game Theory and the Transformation of Family Law. While in Vietnam, he taught at the Saigon Law School. He was Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and a Diplomat in the American College of Family Trial Lawyers.