Synopses & Reviews
Why is it that love seems to come easily to some people and not to others?
According to acclaimed author and psychologist Linda Austin, M.D., there is nothing fundamentally wrong with those of us who have difficulty finding and keeping love. However, there may be specific behaviors that we engage in, or do not engage in, that limit our capacity to love -- even ourselves. In Heart of the Matter, Dr. Austin identifies the five core behaviors that determine our ability to have successful, loving relationships, as well as the patterns of behavior that can subtly sabotage those efforts.
The Core Behaviors
1. Engage with the World Around You
2. Evaluate the Choices You Make for Love
3. Expand Your Safety Zone
4. Establish Emotional Independence
5. Evolve Consciously, Willfully, Healthily
Heart of the Matter teaches us how these five essential practices can deepen and transform our ability to experience profound and lasting love. In this fascinating guidebook, Dr. Austin walks us through the process of making small, specific changes that are bound to have huge ripple effects in our interpersonal relationships. Most important, Heart of the Matter demonstrates how to identify and use our strengths to our fullest advantage in seeking the love -- and lives -- of our dreams.
Review
Frank Pittman, M.D. Author of Private Lies and Grow Up! Linda Austin is a refreshingly sensible observer of human mating and mismating behavior. For those who need to love and/or be loved, Heart of the Matter offers the wisdom, clarity and courage to get out there and make it work. No one should step into the world of relationships without reading this book.
Review
Richard O'Connor, Ph.D. Author of Undoing Depression Heart of the Matter is a very appealing book, without pretense or hype, just a lot of help and hope for those who are having trouble finding love. I will recommend this not only to my patients who are single, but also to those who are in relationships that are destructive or stagnant.
Review
Edward Hallowell, M.D. Author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness and Connect Heart of the Matter is a wise, kind, and useful book. Drawing both upon original ideas and the wisdom of the ages, Dr. Austin offers a guide to the most important act in human life: loving. Her advice does not oversimplify all that goes into love, but neither does it hide behind an air of mystery in order to avoid offering specific tips. This is a wonderful, informative, and exciting book.
Review
Frank Pittman, M.D. Author of Private Lies and Grow Up! Linda Austin is a refreshingly sensible observer of human mating and mismating behavior. For those who need to love and/or be loved, Heart of the Matter offers the wisdom, clarity and courage to get out there and make it work. No one should step into the world of relationships without reading this book.
Review
Florence Isaacs Author of Toxic Friends/True Friends A compassionate road map for anyone looking for love that lasts.
Review
George Weinberg, Ph.D. Author of Why Men Won't Commit If you've ever felt that love keeps slipping through your fingers, Heart of the Matter may be just what you need to find and nurture a truly great relationship. Thoughtful yet practical, Linda Austin shows how to engage deeply with the person who's really right for you and build a growing, long-lasting relationship.
Review
Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Love is an essential ingredient for optimal health. In Heart of the Matter, Linda Austin shows you how to maximize the love you have or find the love that's missing. This is an uplifting, practical, and insightful book.
Review
Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. Author of Getting the Love You Want, and co-originator with his wife, Helen LaKelly Hunt, of Imago Relationship Therapy Dr. Austin really gets to the heart of the matter: Each of us has the capacity to make a choice about how we will behave in any situation in our love relationship. If we chose to be whole rather than always express neediness, we can create a lasting love. This book is a great recipe for creating and sustaining a relationship. It is filled with luminous illustrations and helpful, concrete advice about how to turn any situation into growth and connection rather than conflict. It will help anyone looking for or in a relationship. I recommended it to my own daughter.
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Michael Gurian Author of Love's Journey An important book -- realistic, optimistic, and most of all practical -- with solid advice on how to attain life's most precious gift: love.
Review
Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. bestselling author of Getting the Love You Want This book is a great recipe for creating and sustaining a relationship. It is filled with luminous illustrations and helpful, concrete advice about how to turn any situation into growth and connection rather than conflict.
About the Author
Linda Austin, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist in Bangor, Maine, and a Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina. A frequent lecturer, she is best known for her nationally syndicated radio program, What's On Your Mind? She lives with her husband in Bangor, Maine.