THE INTIMATE MARRIAGE

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The nature of intimacy, the barriers to its achievement, and the ways in which intimacy can be enhanced are set forth by Howard and Charlotte Clinebell, a married couple both of which are professionals in the field of marriage counseling. Couples who are relating well in some areas but who wish for more of what Paul Tournier calls a "total marriage" will find a wide variety of relationships discussed: sexual, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, creative. THE INTIMATE MARRIAGE can be read and its ideas applied by the husband and wife in the home, or by several couples in a marital growth group. It opens up levels of marriage where partners can work constructively, realizing that a more need-satisfying union is possible, and suggests techniques that can be used. The illustrations drawn from the Clinebells' long counseling experience give insight into individual problems and show how frequently difficulties which were thought to be only personal are really universal. A "talk it over" section at the end of each chapter adds to the book's usefulness for discussion groups. There is an extensive bibliography. Altogether, this book provides a helpful guide to deeper levels of communication than exist in many marriages today.

HarperCollins College Div., 1/1/1970. Hardcover. 234 pp.