Introduction

The dawn of this generation came upon the human race with a magnanimous increase in the manifestation of realities in several contexts and on several planes; in ways unimaginable, human existence, interaction and understanding are both expanding and deteriorating. And, yes, they are happening side by side. Things that used to be hard to bear are now common practice and often celebrated. Time was when people were intentional about making their relationships with other people work – irrespective of the context of the relationship – but these days, people would rather allow their relationships deteriorate. While our world is expanding in the knowledge of the use of technology, our world is deteriorating in the context of human relationships and interaction and this isn’t a good thing.

These days, marriages are not working out or are outrightly failing because people are making the wrong decisions when it comes to relationships and things turn out terrible for them. People fail to realize that contrary to the popular notion that humans who do not share a connection cannot communicate, making relationships and communication work is intentional. This implies that people who do not even like each other can be in a relationship and grow to love each other and become best of friends. In time past, the basis of getting married used to be more than just mutual attraction to one another.

Building relationships that wind up in marriage require a lot of input from both parties involved. There are notions that are usually peddled around that it is a man’s job to make a relationship work, or that it is a woman’s job to be submissive in a relationship. The truth is that these things actually require both parties to be willing to fully participate in the process of initiating, building and sustaining a relationship and making it work. These stereotypes are some of the tumults that relationships face and they must be removed for relationships to work. This is one very important aspect of this book. There is a need to remind couples and intending lovers that in a relationship, there are two humans; both prone to mistakes, both susceptible to mood swings, both deserving of care and attention and both accountable to each other.

Sustaining relationships combines everything from the conversations that the two individuals in the relationship engage in, to their reactions to the shortcomings of each other, to their ability to put up with and win over the family of each other. In this book, we will cover everything from managing conflicts in your relationship to resolving conflicts and reaching compromises. And then we will consider the importance of family and see ways in which people can win over the families of their partners and become entrenched in the conversations that family engages in like they are a part of that family. We would consider the importance of this and examine ways in which people can accomplish this without having to struggle very much. Also, we will consider the benefits of winning the members of your partner’s family over emotionally.

This book is a must read for people who are in rocky relationships or are planning to get into a relationship and do not want to encounter problems. If you match this description, then dig in and enjoy.