Product Description

Thought-provoking questions that challenge and inspire couples to build a lasting, intimate relationship.

When Susan Piver's husband, Duncan, proposed, her first impulse was to break up with him. "How does one enter into marriage knowing that almost half of all couples these days get divorced?" she thought in a panic. "Suppose he wants to live somewhere I hate? What if I wish we had ten times more money than he wishes for, or he wants to spend more time with his family than I do?"

One by one, she and Duncan answered these questions and many more, alternately delighted, appalled, infuriated, and mystified by the other's responses. In exploring each area of uncertainty, Piver learned something about her husband-to-be, herself, and their relationship. Focusing on key areas of married life, such as home, money, work, sex, community and friends, family, and spirituality, her list of questions became the basis for this book.

The Hard Questions should be required reading for engaged couples, newlyweds, and those in long-term relationships. It is a simple yet profound tool that will challenge and inspire couples to gain a deeper understanding of each other and build a lasting, intimate relationship.

"This book of hard questions and exercises for couples is innovative and exciting." --Andrew Weil, M.D.

"Susan Piver is a deeply intuitive and innovative thinker. She has both tenderness and acuity regarding what concerns us. I could not recommend her more highly." --Julia Cameron

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74211 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-08
• Released on: 2000-05-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Review
...a nice antidote to insta-match TV-reality shows like The Bachelorette. -- Time Magazine, March 10, 2003

Review
A nice antidote to insta-match TV-reality shows like The Bachelorette. (Time) This book of hard questions and exercises for couples is innovative and exciting. (Andrew Weil, M.D.) Susan Piver is a deeply intuitive and innovative thinker. I could not recommend her more highly. (Julia Cameron)

About the Author
Susan Piver owns Padma Projects, a company that produces CD/Books for people interested in spirituality and health. She has worked with authors Thomas Moore, Andrew Weil and Celia Straus.

Customer Reviews

Great questions that lead to very deep conversations
Although I'm already very happily married, my wife and I have found this book to be incredibly stimulating. She bought a copy on impulse for a friend who's getting married, but after skimming through it, we ended up keeping a copy for ourselves and buying another for our friend. We haven't finished it yet (not by a long shot), but we have found the process of answering the questions very insightful and provocative. We have discovered things about each other that might have taken years to find out. We have had some incredibly deep and interesting (and sometimes quite difficult) conversations that have lead us to whole new levels of understanding about each other. I'm generally not a big "self help" guy, and I was definitely skeptical when she started reading the questions to me, but it really has been a fun and helpful (albeit also a little scary sometimes) process. I recommend this book highly and not just for people who are contemplating getting married. I think it's an excellent book for any two people who are involved in a committed relationship and who want to understand each other better and perhaps take their relationship to a deeper, more meaningful level.

Good for non-evangelicals
Many of the pre-marriage books I was looking at were written from an evangelical Christian point of view, which is certainly valuable but not what I was looking for exclusively. This book is a wonderful resource for non-evangelicals who are still looking for serious marriage preparation. It did a concise job of presenting the big issues; none are surprising, but it's a good collection of the major areas you should be addressing. It won't help you work out the little details, but helps make sure you answer the big questions that could jeopardize your relationship.

Surprising Results!
I ordered this book based on seeing Susan Piver on "Oprah". Although I didn't question my love, communication with my husband needed some "work", so I thought this book could be helpful. I was extraordinarily surprised by the results. My first surprise was that my husband was so willing and eager to participate in this. My second surprise was some of the answers and information we exchanged. Some of the simpler questions that I thought would be one word answers, led to deep discussions. There is no question but that this book has been extremely helpful to us. Even without the book to guide us, we now find the exchange of honest and open conversation much easier. "The Hard Questions" is a good book!!!