Book review: The Good, The Bad, The Relationship by Deborah Stenton

Nothing is sustainable without effort, and with a relationship often the time spent investing in it, and the other person, enhances and nurtures it. Over time people change, and so to does the nature of a relationship, they will grow and adapt, sometimes such changes cause tension and strife. Relationships can be difficult at the best of times. There are few out there who get the pinnacle of Disney’s happily ever after. Real relationships take work. They have ups and downs, hardships and rewards. The key is being able to move past the problems in a way which is both productive and progressive. What one person thinks is perfect, could in  fact be a source of unhappiness for the other. But issues left undiscussed and unresolved merely feed the downfall and failure of a relationship. Deborah Stenton’s The Good, The Bad, The Relationship suggests several stages to help forge a successful, mutually rewarding, relationship.

Deborah Stenton’s The Good, The Bad, The Relationship is not only aimed at helping to promote and resolve issues within a current relationship but is also a useful tool for self reflection, allowing a reader to critically assess their own attitudes, hold ups, and reasons for past relationship failures and acknowledge how they contributed and take steps to ensure they don’t self-sabotage, not only themselves but any of their relationships. It builds a foundation of understanding that can be applied to future relationships, or help save failing ones. It gives the reader power to take responsibility and work towards a better them. Best of all, with an occasional word tweak the stages and advice can be moulded to encompass any type of relationship, not just a romantic one, in fact the author openly encourages it to be used this way. The presentation of this book makes it an easy accessible reference, it explains possible feelings and observations, asks questions, and makes suggestions. By using this guide it becomes easy to reflect, and acknowledge our own failings, and move away from laying blame and other unprogressive responses and attitudes. Deborah Stenton makes a lot of sense, and I can see this work making a difference to those who find themselves reading it.

Book link:

The Good, The Bad, The RelationshipThe Good, The Bad, The RelationshipThe Good, The Bad, The Relationship