Make Love Better: How to Own Your Story, Connect with Your Partner, and Deepen Your Relationship Practice

by Jan Dworkin

WINNER, 2019 AMERICAN BOOK FEST, BEST BOOK AWARDS: SELF-HELP/ RELATIONSHIPS

Let’s face it, relationships are hard.

If you’re like many people, your relationship résumé reads something like a spatter pattern. Confusing experiences lie in your wake, and you can’t decipher the learning. Maybe your relationship is littered with messy conflicts or scorched by the ills of the world. Maybe you are lonely—and looking for a partner, or you feel you just aren’t any good at relationships—and you want to get better.

Using stories from her own colorful relationship life and from her work with clients from diverse backgrounds around the world, Jan Dworkin, PhD, lays bare her missteps and triumphs both in and out of the bedroom with honesty, humor, and depth. She offers concrete tools to help couples navigate power dynamics and conflicts that arise from differences in gender, class, race, sexual desire, communication styles, dreams and opposing points of view. Through sassy stories, step-by-step exercises, and hard-earned wisdom, Dworkin guides readers to build their very own “relationship practice.” Whether you are embarking on a new relationship, striving to improve an existing one, or recouping after a breakup, prepare yourself to laugh, cry, and gain the education of a lifetime. This is the real world of relationships with no holds barred.

Genres: Psychology

316 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2019

About the author

Jan Dworkin, PhD, has more than 25 years of international, cross-cultural experience as a couples therapist and leadership coach. She is one of the founders of the Process Work Institute (PWI), a not-for-profit graduate school dedicated to research and training in process-oriented psychology. She co-created its master’s degree programs and served as its academic dean for over a decade; she continues to teach training workshops worldwide. Jan coaches leaders and teams across sectors, specializing in conflict facilitation and leadership development in creative industries. Based in Portland, Oregon, she lives with her husband, Jerry, and their Corgi, Mattie.

Reviews

[River Crabbe]

I've read a lot of books about relationships in the last few years, and I've never found an author so likeable and relatable. Interesting and engaging. Has given me a lot of food for thought about my patterns. Deeply appreciate the commitment to justice, understanding (treasuring) difference, and owning your shit in connection.