I have not been writing many blog posts lately. One big reason is the number of replies I have been writing to comments being added daily to my April 5, 2012 post. Every one of them could be a blog post on its own. All are about marriages on the brink of divorce. Why? She wants to stand on her own two feet as her only child turns 18. She’s in love with a younger man in another country that...
An Audio Intro to Assume Love
I was interviewed recently on a new internet radio show by a great new host, Christopher Green. The show is called According to Chris, and it was the July 1 show. I hope you will listen to the free recording of Chris Green’s interview of me, Patty Newbold, about how to Assume Love, Expect Love, and Find Third Alternatives, plus the story of what got me started. I would be thrilled if you...
What Has Happened to the US Marriage Rate?
Thanks to a report issued by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University this week, I am seeing lots of news stories reporting that the marriage rate is at its lowest in a century and down almost 60% from 1970. Whatever could this mean? Mostly, it means our population is growing older and we are marrying older. The marriage rate and the percentage of...
Cleaning Out My File Cabinet
I’ve been meaning to clean out my file cabinet. There is a pile of papers on my desk that needs a better home. But the file cabinet, one of those big, four drawer units with a lock on it, has been in seven different offices of mine since 1990, gathering papers, losing some, gathering more. There is no more room in it. I need to make time to clean it out. Over the 4th of July weekend, I...
Too Close, Too Distant, Just Right
You wouldn’t know it by the way they rush into relationships so intensely, but for some people, marriage is frighteningly close. When the fear overwhelms them, they desperately try to create some space. Unfortunately, it usually overwhelms them when the relationship is at its happiest and most intimate. For others, anything short of sharing the same pair of pants 24/7 can feel at times like...