The Couple — the Lynchpin of the Family
The family unit begins with a couple but the emotional attachment between these two people will not always remain as it existed at the start. There are many factors that can put stress on this relationship, not the least of which are other family members — children, in-laws, stepchildren, ex-spouses, and so on. Once strained, a source for help people frequently seek is books and there are more than enough to choose from.
Many of these books have a positive spin and attempt to lead a couple to a warmer and more intimate relationship, such as the long-time bestseller The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate. Like the authors of most books in this category, Dr. Gary Chapman bases his advice on his clinical experience as a marriage counselor.
Although sometimes cross-listed in the parenting, family, and relationship genre, books about divorce belong more in the self-help and how-to category or sometimes in law/business books. Divorce books focus on the failed relationship and not how to save the marriage. Most divorce books, to at least some degree, confront legal issues and need to be written by an attorney.
Naturally, there are instances where nonexperts write of relationships — those successful and those that failed. However, for the most part, the author is someone famous and the book is purchased more to secure a peephole into the celebrity's life than for purposes of gaining credible advice. A recent example is A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey through Fatherhood and Divorce by Alec Baldwin. Like most celebrity books, a ghostwriter, Mark Tabb, worked with Baldwin.
