Communication for Couples
The Conversations That Actually Save RelationshipsBy Dr. Margaret SunDStroM
Length9h 6m
About this audiobook
Communication for Couples is a practical guide for long-term relationships seeking deeper connection, healthier communication, and lasting intimacy. Drawing on more than two decades of couples therapy experience, Dr. Margaret Sundstrom shows why many marriages struggle not because partners stop talking, but because they stop being curious about each other.
Through relatable case studies and real-life relationship challenges, the book explores the conversations couples often avoid: money, intimacy, conflict, apologies, parenting, career decisions, family boundaries, and major life transitions. Each chapter examines a common relationship pattern, explains the emotional dynamics behind it, and provides practical exercises couples can use to strengthen trust and understanding.
Readers will learn how to identify destructive communication habits, repair conflicts before resentment grows, deliver meaningful apologies, and reconnect after periods of distance. The book also addresses issues such as contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling, and unresolved emotional wounds that can quietly erode a relationship over time.
Rather than relying on rigid scripts, the author offers flexible frameworks that help couples navigate real conversations with authenticity and empathy. Whether partners are facing recurring disagreements or simply want to deepen their connection, this guide provides actionable tools for building a stronger and more resilient marriage.
Perfect for couples married between five and twenty-five years, this book offers a practical roadmap for transforming everyday conversations into opportunities for growth, understanding, and lasting love.
Audiobook details
GenreSelf-Help
Length9 hrs 6 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 4, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction: What This Book Is, and What It Isn’t
2Chapter 1: The Communication Problem Couples Don’t See
3Chapter 2: The Four Bids Partners Actually Make
4Chapter 3: Listening as the Underused Skill
5Chapter 4: The Conversation About Money
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter 5: Sex Talk Without Performance
7Chapter 6: The In-Law Conversation
8Chapter 7: The Kids Conversation
9Chapter 8: The Career Conversation
10Chapter 9: Conflict Styles You Both Bring
11Chapter 10: Repair After a Fight
12Chapter 11: The Apology That Actually Lands
13Chapter 12: Stonewalling and Its Opposite
14Chapter 13: Contempt and How to Interrupt It
15Chapter 14: Criticism vs. Complaint
16Chapter 15: The Boring Evening That Builds Trust
17Chapter 16: Long-Distance and Distance Within the Home
18Chapter 17: The Fight You Keep Having
19Chapter 18: Naming What’s Been Sitting Underneath
20Chapter 19: When You Are the One Who Is Wrong
21Chapter 20: Sleep, Stress, and the Body Your Marriage Lives In
22Chapter 21: Friendship Inside the Marriage
23Chapter 22: The Midlife Reckoning
24Chapter 23: Sickness, Caretaking, and the Vows in Practice
25Chapter 24: Affairs, Recovery, and the Conversation After
26Chapter 25: When You Have Tried Everything and It Is Not Enough
27Chapter 26: Appreciation, Said Out Loud
28Chapter 27: Phones, Screens, and the Marriage You Are Not Having
29Chapter 28: Second Marriages and Stepfamilies
30Chapter 29: When the Last Child Leaves
31Chapter 30: The Practice of a Long Marriage
32Chapter 31: Old Resentments and How They Live in the Body
33Chapter 32: The Conversation About Death
34Chapter 33: A Few Final Words on the Work
35Appendix A: A Year of Conversations
36Appendix B: When to Get a Therapist
37Appendix C: The Composite Couples
38Appendix D: For the Partner Who Will Not Read the Book
39Acknowledgments
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