Resilient Marriages: From Alcoholism and Adversity to Relationship Growth

by Karen Shirley

Resilience has come to rival insight as a fundamental therapeutic goal in bettering the lives of individuals in distress. And it is increasingly an important topic in fields as diverse as education, sociology, and family studies. Yet despite all the recent interest up to now few in-depth studies have appeared.
This book is a moving ethnography of five couples whose marriages survived over many years and ultimately transcended a partner's alchoholism. The couple's stories are poignant, full of wisdom and carrying important lessons. The author's insightful analysis sheds light on three recurring residual resources, moments of choice, and building trust. This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of what makes relationships last over a course of many years or a lifetime, while serving as an engaging supplementary text for courses in family studies, psychology, and sociology.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2000