Growing Stronger Together

Every relationship is an argument for its own existence. There are powerful - positive - reasons why you selected each other and are committed to each other. You recognize that couples do so much more than to play together and love one another. You two have chosen your committed relationship, not just for passion and recreation, but also to take on the obligations and challenges of life. Relationship resiliency is the unique capacity of your relationship to stand up to life's challenges, adjust in the ways that are required to be successful, and - as a consequence of these experiences - to develop fact-based confidence in yourselves as a problem-solving unit. This book- based on social and family science research - is a tool for the two of you to systematically and consistently grow stronger, together. You will begin with a scientifically based survey with which you will immediately uncover your relationship's unique inventory of resiliency traits and the relative strength of each. Next, you with begin with what you already are doing well and, over time, nurture your growing edges. You will come to appreciate challenges to your relationship and to the life you live together; they are opportunities to be exploited. You will use these events constructively to grow closer and stronger. You can start right now by taking our social science based relationship strengths assessment. It will uncover positive information about the two of you as a couple. Your results will immediately reduce any tension both of you might feel while validating your decision to be together. After this awesome beginning the two of you will continue your journey by discovering and exploiting all of your strengths as a two-some. Along the way you will discover how to take advantage of any discomfort to grow ever closer and stronger together. Resilient couples not only survive their challenging experiences, they grow from them: "Like a Timex they take a licking and keep on ticking. And eventually morph into a Rolex." This book helps you jump start your personal journey. About the InstituteThis book is a product of the Relationship Research Institute of Michigan. The Institute's mission is to provide the discoveries of contemporary family science to couples in committed romantic relationships. At the heart of this is a focus on each couple's unique strengths while staying away from old-fashioned (and often destructive) "deficit detecting". About the Author Dr. Robert E. Lee, PhD, has 50 years of clinical experience. He currently is Professor Emeritus of Marriage and Family Therapy at Florida State University. Formerly a full professor at Michigan State University, he has spent three decades training marriage and family therapists and researching couple and family relationships.