Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: we speak different love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. In a friendly, often humorous style, he unpacks each one. Some husbands or wives may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." Some partners might find physical touch makes them feel valued: holding hands, giving back rubs, and sexual contact. Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counseling practice.

How do you discover your spouse’s – and your own – love language? Chapman’s short questionnaires are one of several ways to find out. Throughout the book, he also includes application questions that can be answered more extensively in the beautifully detailed companion leather journal (an exclusive Amazon.com set). Each section of the journal corresponds with a chapter from the book, offering opportunities for deeper reflection on your marriage.

Get it and keep it

I liked the concept of five love languages. Mr. Chapman reveals the different ways of love expression. It is a simple concept, and rather obvious, when you think about it, but still I needed Mr. Chapman to make me realize it.

If you believe in relationships and you want to the best of your relationship with your partner, this book is definitely for you. You should not only read it, but also keep it at home for future reference. If you both want to live long and "happily ever after" you also need to consider "Can We Live 150 Years?" by Mr. Tombak. Both books wrapped up together make a good addition to a wedding gift.

I Recommend it to All My Friends

I can't say enough about the value of this book. I've been married now for 11-years, and credit many of the lessons in this book for helping us through the tough times. If you're doing your best at keeping a relationship afloat, but seem to be going nowhere, read this book! Chances are, you're not speaking the right 'language.'

Deceptively Simple, Easy Read, and Awesome Message

I read this book at the suggestion of my counselor. I can't wait to thank her. It has really helped me to discover where I contributed to my marriage falling apart. It was an easy read, but the content just made so much sense right away. I also got the journal and find that also thought provoking and easy to use. I feel there is plenty of space so I can continue to add on to each comment. It is helping me greatly to heal my feelings around divorcing the love of my life. I'm also hopeful it will help us reconcile and hopefully even re-marry one day and correct a huge mistake that we made.