Hand-picked quotes about relationship from the best non-fiction books

When you require another individual for your survival, you are a parasite on that individual. There is no choice, no freedom involved in your relationship. It is a matter of necessity rather than love.

Couples cannot resolve issues of marriage without the security of knowing the act of struggling over these issues will not itself destroy the relationship.

Any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least.

A conviction that there exists somewhere the person who will save us with his or her love. Much of the infidelity that is the hallmark of unhappy marriages rests on this illusion.

Only bad things happen quickly. All the happiness-producing processes in our lives take time, usually a long time: learning new things, changing old behaviors, building satisfying relationships, raising children. This is why patience and determination are among life’s primary virtues.

To imagine that we are solely, or even primarily, responsible for the successes and failures of our children is a narcissistic myth. You seldom see a bumper sticker that reads, MY KID IS IN REHAB.

Love is the free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are quite capable of living without each other but choose to live with each other.

The pursuit of material wealth distracts us from activities and people that provide more lasting pleasure and satisfaction.