The excitement and romance of love doesn't have to fade over time. That is up to you and your partner. This wonderful book can help. It will show you how to discover the depth of intimacy that only two lovers can find when working together.

What a wonderful concept this book projects...taking a moment out of every day to share with your partner a reading that inspires love and passion...wether you choose to do this after a candlelit dinner with soft mood music in the background as you come to the end of that "perfectly romantic evening", or after you have put the children to bed, cleaned the kitchen and watched the 10pm news. This book brings you together for a moment of love and romance at the end of every day...something that I believe is truly important.

This book is wonderful. I have given it as a gift twice and both time it has been a charm. This gives the bride an organized place to keep all wedding related info: when they met, dating, proposal, engagement, wedding plans, shower, guests, gifts, photos, special memories - everything. It's perfect.

A newly-married friend recommended this book to me. I recently purchased four or five books on wedding ceremonies and vows and as soon as I starting looking through "Weddings from the Heart," I wished I'd saved myself the money of buying the other books! "Weddings from the Heart" is the best-organized book of wedding tips, vows, ceremony ideas (and rituals), and other good things--like love-related quotes and poems--I've yet seen. It offers lots of suggestions on how to make one's ceremony unique, while providing good and useful information and sources (ie, the poems, vows, and quotes).

In addition, this book contains info on finding an officiant, choosing the setting, light and musical selections, and vows both for first marriages and renewals. It also includes a chapter on ceremonial traditions from other countries, as well as a ceremony planning worksheet at the back.

If you're planning a wedding ceremony or vow renewal, save yourself lots of time (and money!) and check out this book. It's perfect for planning a non-traditional (ie, non-church) wedding or for adding interesting and meaningful touches to a traditional ceremony.

This book of daily affirmations is valuable in the sense that it calls attention to pathways of allowing love to enter into one's life. Although people tend to define love in romantic terms, this book is also about the type of love that one would share with friends, coworkers, and even the woman behind the counter at the grocery store. It is about human love.

I was fortunate enough to get this book about six months ago and it has proven to be an asset. It only takes a short time to read the daily passage and reflect upon it, but the benefits continue to reveal themselves. I have even earmarked my favorite passages and frequently return to them even though that peculiar day on the calendar has passed. In today's world of nonstop activity and individualism, it is beneficial to take time out and think about those things that matter the most - the sharing of love with other humans.

This book is a gem for keeping handy for daily consultation, or just as a reference book of fresh ways to see the world through the eyes of love each and every day. The format of the book is simple; each page represents one of the 365 days of the year, and contains a heading (such as "Separate and Together") along with a short (three paragraph in this case) description of how to refresh your view of this aspect of love.

This book is truly a book for lovers (not friends), so it's the perfect gift for you to give yourself or that very special someone in your life. Whether your relationship is brand new, or has weathered the seasons of time, you'll find wonderful insights in this very thoughtful and compassionate book.

My partner and I combed through this book learning the history and meaning of different kinds of ceremonies which really helped us as we wrote our own. I am not a specifically religious person so it was helpful learning the background behind the different parts of traditional ceremonies (invocation, vows, etc) as well as seeing how different folks (pagan, recovery) have created their own ceremonies. I actually found these sections a bit cheesy, but it was still a useful book in all.

I was recently married in a Baha'i ceremony. In the Baha'i Faith, the only required/prescribed element is the one-line vow, "We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God." Other than that, we were on our own. The thing that made this book so incredibly helpful is that the author describes the various elements or building blocks of a wedding ceremony, e.g. processional, convocation, readings, vows, benediction, etc. We were able to easily adapt her "building blocks" by inserting writings and prayers from the Baha'i Faith, the New Testament, and other sources -- even a "family medallion" ceremony to honor my son! It was warm and wonderful and everyone tells us it was the most beautiful ceremony they'd ever seen. Yes, some of Kingma's suggested readings and speeches are corny -- we didn't use a single one of her suggested vows or writings. And her prose isn't as graceful as some I've seen. But if you want a book that is really helpful with the nitty-gritty, this is the one to have. We definitely couldn't have made our ceremony as meaningful and beautiful without this book. Buy it!

What do you do if you want a wedding ceremony that's brief, informal, not stuffy or pompous, spiritual without being specifically religious, and expressive of your feelings? This book was just what we needed. We wrote a ceremony using some of our own words, some of the ideas given here, and even some on-the-spot improvisation. It was the most perfect wedding we could have imagined.

I was attracted to this book by its frilly pink romantic looking cover and its promise that I'll discover those deep secrets about myself and uncover ways to stop picking the wrong men and, therefore, eventually find Mr. Right. The only thing I did learn, and it didn't take much reading of this book to realize is; that looks can be deceiving. This pretty little book, just like a too handsome man with a peacock's strut, promises much, and delivers nothing!

I picked up this book thinking that I might end up returning it because it would be a re-hash of similarly titled self help books. I've been pleasantly surprised by what I've read. The book is very readable becuase the author combines both spiritual aspects of the topic with very practical exercises that help you discover what you are looking for (and may hopefully find).

ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL BOOKS I HAVE READ IN LONG TIME. ITS PAGES ARE FILLED WITH ELEGANT AND POWERFUL MESSAGES OF HOPE IN SEARCH OF THAT SPECIAL PERSON WHOM WE CAN SHARE OUR LIFE'S JOURNEY WITH. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I read this book at the end of a 10 year relationship. I also shared it with my ex-lover. It helped tremendously not only in healing the pain but in understanding why the union had run its course. The information I gleaned helped the relationship to transform to a friendship, eased the guilt I felt and helped us both understand and appreciate the beauty of what we had shared. Eight years later, I still remember this book profoundly and recommend it on every occassion I can.

I found this book to be a wonderful study of relationships and why people seek out companionship. It provided wonderful insights on myself, my own personal needs, and the relationship I was in at the time.

However, it talks about the coming apart of relationships... SO BE CAREFUL!! I read this book, tried to discuss some of my insights with the woman I was in a relationship with, and ended up in an horible argument. The argument was about things which were over and done with - but things which I found in this book. Furthermore, the argument came at a time when our relationship was coming back together, not appart. Things were going better than they had in a long time, but the argument changed the momentum of our relationship and everything collapsed in a very bad way. In the end, I lost a woman I had known for 14 years of my life, and the one person I hoped I would spend the rest of my days with. Since then I have been majorly depressed.

I cannot blame this book ! for what happened in my life. Still, I advise BIG TIME caution when using it as a guide in your own relationship. Sure you can learn from this book, but use the knowledge sparingly. Do not allow it to cause confrontation in your own relationship. You know your relationship better than Daphne Rose Kingma does. It's yours to figure out and learn from. So please be careful.

Today I am ordering this book to send to an acquantance who is going through a divorce.

I read it five years ago when I was going through mine. It helped me do the "emotional work" that must be done to heal. The quiz on relationships alone is more than worth the price of the book. It helped me put into perspective what the quality of the relationship was and validate that while the divorce was extremely painful it was the right choice.

The happy life I have now is probably in part because of what I learned in from reading this book during a very emotional time. I highly recommend this book.

This book was an "accidental," but certainly worthwhile, addition to my library. I say "accidental" because I saw "9 types of lovers" and jumped to the incorrect conclusion that this was an enneagram book. Whereas this certainly IS a personality type book, it has nothing to do with the enneagram.

Daphne Rose Kingma is a practicing psychoanalyst and also a prolific writer who specializes in love and relationships. This book draws on her 25+ years of experience in counseling couples and individuals, during which time she has concluded that people tend to fit into nine basic "love types," each with their own characteristics and idiosyncracies.

The majority of the book is dedicated to Kingma's detailed descriptions of each of the nine types of lovers. Each chapter starts with a section on how to identify a type; then covers the various "attraction" and "detraction" characteristics of that type. Next, we're offered a fairly thorough psychological explanation for how a person's history makes them fit into their type, identifying the specific "emotional wound" that affects their behavior pattern. I found these to be the most insightful and poignant parts of the book, with some very "on the money" ideas. Finally, each chapter has a section directed to the person actually of that type, with suggestions on how to better understand and manage their relationships.

The book is fun and easy to read, and mostly works as a tool to identify and understand each of the nine types. It does outline some very basic truths about How We Are, and I agree with the previous reviewer that it would be a good resource for someone stuck in a pattern of choosing the same kind of (unsuccessful) relationship, over and over. On the downside, I feel that very little time is given to the more practical aspects of how each type interacts with other types, "good" vs. "bad" combinations, the realities of finding the right type for you, and so on. And although Kingma uses a fairly upbeat tone, I did come away with the feeling that the popular psycho-buzz phrase "everyone is damaged" must *really* be true-- at least based on this book.

Final thoughts: Recommended, although not brilliant (7.5 bookmarks out of a possible 10). Does a nice job of teaching us about the different types, but is a little thin on how to APPLY that knowledge. As with most books of this genre, I'll also add the usual caveat that we shouldn't put TOO much emphasis on trying to "shoehorn" ourselves into specific "type" descriptions-- we ARE, after all, individuals.

I don't normally like books like this because I don't believe that you can truly seperate people into categories. Only 9 types for all the plethora of diversity in the world? And yet, when I picked up this book I could put it down. The author has captured some basic truths about people in America, how we act and why. If you're the type of person that seems to attract the same kind of mate over and over, this book will probably attract your interest.

Each lover type has its own chapter with standardized sections, so that no matter what type of lover you have or want, you can find out the information you need. The author gives us tell-tale signs for each type and yet provides us pretty convincing ways in which each type is different than everyone else (in case you aren't sure). There is a section on why we are attracted to that type, and why they drive us crazy, what's really going on psychologically, with a special emotional wound identified for each person. What we can learn from each type and what they need to improve on in themselves. Basically, all the secret questions we've ever asked ourselves about past lovers and maybe even family and friends are answered here.

I do have a few complaints, though. The catch phrase on the back of the book, "How to find the perfect lover... and keep them!", isn't sufficiently addressed (after reading the book, you won't think there is a "perfect" type out there). Only a small chapter discusses how different types deal with each other, and we don't learn the specific mechanics of how people attract the same type over and over, or how to break that cycle. Also, the book doesn't discuss how people tend to flex between types, and often act as a certain type with friends and are a different type with a lover. Finally, even though the author tries to write this book from an asexual point of view, as a man I found it to be specifically written for women. Nothing wrong with that, except that it reduced the book's effectiveness for me.

In short, a fascinating book. The title explains it perfectly. It's well-written, easily comprehensible, interesting, informative, and insightful. I only wish there were tips on how to cope with being in the different pairings she discusses.

Don't be duped by the mind-candy, girly look of this book's cover! Attitudes of Gratitude deserves to be taken seriously by anyone who's serious about the practice of love. It's absolutely impossible to read this book without reflecting on all that you have received from your relationships and from your life experience. This powerful and potent feature makes the book worth buying and reading.

MaryJane Ryan also reminds us that gratitude is a simple and effective tool for quickly undoing the false judgments we hold against self and others. This is because gratitude and resentment are mutually exclusive, and each one cancels the other one out. Because gratitude enables you to swiftly change your mind, it's a kind of magic fairy dust that turns you into the person you most want to be. Gratitude is easy. It's fast. And anyone can do it. Try it for yourself and see. (The Spiritual Reviewer)