Books to change your perspective on love (3)

Reading lists

Books that will change your perspective on love

Susanna Abse

'A must-read for everyone wanting to understand more about what makes us fall in - and out - of love'

'A charming, useful, kind book about the pains and hopes of relationship'

'This wonderfully wise book would give anyone reading it insight and inspiration on the importance and complexity of our love relationships. Susanna writes with clarity and warmth in a voice that is steeped in decades of experience and means we trust her. Her gentle humour is also a joy.'

'Powerful, masterful, insightful. With every turn of the page I learnt more about people and their relationships and, ultimately, about myself'

'Tell Me the Truth about Love is a compelling and thoughtful book which anyone who is interested in the dynamics of romantic relationships should read. Abse is a psychoanalyst so her approach is reflexive, and the complex learnings that couples make during therapy with her seem to unfold in real time. This is not a book about quick fixes. It is a book that demonstrates that no couple is "able to meet each other's desires completely, but the relationship exists in the trying.'

'The inner lives of couples fascinate us. We wonder what goes when we sense trouble and heartache. Susanna Abse shows how therapists turn hurts, and misunderstandings into longed for deeper connections.'

'Did you happen to marry a prince or a princess who eventually turned into a frog? For anyone who has ever experienced a spousal disappointment or a marital explosion, this masterpiece by Susanna Abse, written in a compelling style with compassion and warmth and humour, provides us with truly brilliant insights about the complexities of couple psychology. This might be the best book ever about the art and the anguish of human relationships.'

13 Tales from Couple Therapy

'Brilliant and touching' Maggie O'Farrell 
 
'A must-read for everyone wanting to understand more about what makes us fall in - and out - of love' Philippa Perry 
 
'A charming, useful, kind book about the pains and hopes of relationships' Alain de Botton 
 
Drawing on over 30 years of therapeutic encounters with people facing hurdles in their love lives, former Chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council Susanna Abse takes us deep inside one of the most fascinating realms there is: other people's relationships. 
 
Candid and captivating, each chapter is inspired by a classic, timeless story. Parents blow their straw house down; Rapunzel yearns for companionship but remains trapped in her castle. Couples strive to navigate the fall from Eden, the bitter taste of the poison apple and strangers in their beds. 
 
From dealing with infidelity to navigating our changing role within a single relationship over the course of a lifetime, Tell Me the Truth About Love sheds vivid light on the human heart, and its struggle to both embrace life's greatest gift and protect itself from pain. Inside, you will find solace, wisdom and unparalleled insight into how, and why, we love.

Susanna Abse

Praise for Tell Me the Truth About Love

Brilliant and touching

'A must-read for everyone wanting to understand more about what makes us fall in - and out - of love'

'A charming, useful, kind book about the pains and hopes of relationship'

Brilliant and touching

'A must-read for everyone wanting to understand more about what makes us fall in - and out - of love'

'A charming, useful, kind book about the pains and hopes of relationship'

Brilliant and touching

'A must-read for everyone wanting to understand more about what makes us fall in - and out - of love'

'A charming, useful, kind book about the pains and hopes of relationship'

Articles featuring Susanna Abse

Books that will change your perspective on love

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