I had taken a brief marriage improvement class with my husband where we were introduced to Gottman's "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" idea; this is the concept that four behaviors are major predictors of success or failure of a marriage. They are: withdrawal (stonewalling),criticism, contempt and defensiveness. While it's good to know what to avoid, it's better to know what to do. That's where the "Seven Principles" come in; instead of just warning you away from negative behaviors, the book helps you identify positive behaviors that can strengthen your marriage.
When I saw this book at the library, I knew I had to pick it up and give it a read. One of my favorite parts of the book were the case studies, where he puts the principles into story form with a variety of couples, and shows how these can work in a real life situation. I find that really helpful. If you're a slow reader, you may enjoy listening to it as a book on CD instead.

This book is a must-read for any couple even thinking about marriage. In fact, my wife and I heard the idea that "the first year of marriage is the hardest" and decided we wanted to nip that hard year in the bud. So we made our last year of dating the hardest instead. This book helped us learn attitudes and habits that helped us through that period and still help us after seven years of marriage.

Of the seven principles in the book, "Nurture Your Fondness and Admiration" and "Let Your Partner Influence You" have really worked for us. The book provided tools like checklists and examples of how to put these principles into practice that let us form good relationship habits, even before we were married. I have benefited especially from always finding new ways to appreciate my wife. Making this activity a habit helped me to enjoy my marriage more as we have celebrated each anniversary.

Who wouldn't want that?