Book orders

an intimate relationship history

Disclaimer: This is a piece of experimental non-fiction. The inclusion of a book on this list does not constitute a recommendation.

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Year 1

Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your Life: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Put You in Control (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)

Bought a few months into the relationship, in an attempt to reign in the deleterious effect of our combined untreated mental illnesses on my psyche. 

Year 2

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts by Gary Chapman

Bought because I was deeply in love but unable to make it work. 

When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life by David D. Burns M.D.

Bought in an attempt to quell the anxiety engendered by my partner’s unpredictability. 

Year 3

No book orders; only pregnancy supplies and cat toys.

Year 4

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman

The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the REAL Truth About Becoming a Mom. Finally. by Vicki Glembocki

Bought because I wanted to be prepared for the worst. Unlike most books on this list, I actually read these cover to cover.

Year 5

Parents Are People, Too: An Emotional Fitness Program for Parents by Katherine Gordy Levine

Bought because it sounded useful. Never touched.

How One of You Can Bring the Two of You Together: Breakthrough Strategies to Resolve Your Conflicts and Reignite Your Love by Susan Page

Bought out of total desperation and the misguided idea that there was a way I could single-handedly fix the relationship without my partner taking part.

Rekindle His Desire: A Practical Plan for Women in a Low Sex/No Sex Relationship Or a Sex-Starved Marriage by Richard Thomas

It didn’t work.

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