Rekindling Desire: A Step-by-Step Program to Help Low-Sex and No-Sex Marriages

by Barry W. McCarthy, Emily McCarthy

Is sex more work than play in your marriage? Do you schedule it in like a dentist appointment? Do you make love once a month, twice at the most? If you answered yes to these questions, you are among the forty million Americans trapped in a low-sex or no-sex marriage.

Now there is help from nationally acclaimed sex and marital experts Barry and Emily McCarthy, who for years have helped couples break down the barriers that have developed between them, and rebuild closeness and longing. Their groundbreaking ten-step program is designed to get sex and intimacy back into these marriages and revitalize relationships. Crafted by years of clinical practice, Rekindling Desire first shows couples how to root out the "poisons" that inhibit sexual desire: shame, guilt, anger, passivity, as well as medical side effects and physical dysfunctions. With sensitivity and tact, the McCarthys then lay out concrete techniques and effective strategies that help couples increase sexual awareness, confront inhibitions, revitalize desire, and integrate intimacy and eroticism.

An exciting new way to spark and sustain desire, Rekindling Desire confronts the secrecy and stigma of low-sex and no-sex marriages, teaching couples how to enjoy a fulfilling, life-long sexual partnership.

Genres: Relationships, Nonfiction, Sexuality, Self Help, Marriage

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2003

Reviews

[Kelli Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the name scare you off. This book was really helpful in my class. I work with couples all the time and understanding the sexual aspect of a relationship is very important. This book conveys what is like in those relationships and ways counselors can help couples deal with issues of intimacy.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful book for couples struggling with sexual desire in their relationship. The McCarthy’s lay out where the problem likely comes from and steps to work to improve desire.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think nobody has rated this because they don't want people to know they read it. :) My husband added this book to my list not really knowing what it is about. We do not have the struggles this book was written for, but I still found it useful. There are always ways we can improve our relationships and this gave some tools for doing that. A lot of it did not apply so I skimmed quite a few chapters, but overall thought it was good.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the second edition of this book after reading the author's Sex Made Simple. That book was for therapsts; this is more easily read by anyone seeking to improve a sexual relationship. Though less repetitive than Sex Made Simple, by the end, I was having trouble telling the chapters apart. That said, this is a clear, straightforward way to address vital aspects of relationship health, and I have already recommended it to clients in my psychiatric practice.