Happy Together: A Fun Guide to Family Life

A comprehensive guide on how to be happy in marriage. At its core: scientific data, expert advice, and the author’s own personal experience.

For 20 years, Belinda Laskom wrote for Time about marriage and relationships. After analyzing the views of hundreds of different couples and data from the most recent scientific research, she identified six major problems that spouses face: lack of intimacy, inability to argue, financial disagreements, relationships with children and close relatives, sexual problems, and refusal of help. In the book, Belinda offers readers a captivating mix of research results, everyday stories, and wise observations on a wide range of topics—from how fair division of household duties improves sex life to what a powerful family argument can do for you (just not in the car, when one of the spouses is driving!).

The author proposes a simple, doable, and not boring method for managing marriage and the “maintenance” of relationships, designed to find out why they’re falling apart—maybe all it takes is changing the oil? Spoiler: staying together is easier than it sounds.