Lasting Love: Navigating the Highs and Lows of Relationships with Expert Myrna Haskell

Imperfect Love | Myrna Haskell | Lasting Relationships

  Real love takes work! It’s easy to believe that healthy relationships should “just happen.” Our happily-ever-after fairy tales perpetuate the myth that love relationships should be both easy and perfect. Yet even in fairytales, the main characters encounter incredible challenges that test their resilience, commitment, and fortitude. Could it be that our romantic relationships […]

Healing from the Deep Pain of Emotional and Physical Betrayal

IAOL 2 | Healing From Betrayal

  Betrayal takes many forms, but all of them can be exceedingly painful. Sadly, we are sometimes betrayed by the very people we count on most to love us, protect us, and care for us. As difficult as it is to bear any type of betrayal, infidelity by a partner can be the most devastating […]

How to Prevent Sarcastic Communication from Destroying Your Marriage

prevent sarcastic communication from destroying your marriage

You’re not alone if you’ve exclaimed, “Hey! That’s not funny!” after bearing the brunt of a “joke” that doesn’t feel at all humorous to you. Words can injure relationships more than you might imagine. Many relationships are harmed by the long-lasting scars of verbal sparring. Often disguised as joking or bantering, derisive commentary poisons intimacy […]

Adventures of a Newlywed: They Lived Quirkily Ever After

quirkily ever after

It’s no wonder that many new (and old) couples become disillusioned when it comes to romantic love. We are raised on Disneyland images of Cinderella and stories of knights rescuing their fair maidens. It is easy to romanticize marriage and secretly expect a perfect journey of never-ending bliss! How enticing it is to believe that […]

Adventures of a Newlywed: The Third Quarter

Newlyweds - the third quarter

As I continue to share my rather comical newlywed journey with you, I hope my experiences help normalize the vicissitudes that are a natural-if often stressful and disorienting-part of newlywed life. In the third segment of my series on newlywed life, I explore the idea of coming to terms with shifts in identity that can […]

Adventures of a Newlywed: The Second Quarter

newlyweds - the second quarter

Ah, married life! It’s not a venture for the faint-hearted or uncommitted heart. It is, however, the perfect adventure for those inclined to create a work of art within the most sacred of personal relationships?marriage. Rilke famously quoted, “For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, […]