Product Description
With the high rate of divorce and breakups, marriage and family experts point to the fact that people don't learn from the mistakes of a failed relationship and assume the next relationship will be better, making little effort to fix or understand what didn't work. There are plenty of self-help books for committed couples on how to enrich a marriage and scores of guidebooks on how to manage through a divorce, but very few focus on partners with differing degrees of commitment where the separation process itself is viewed as an opportunity for self-growth. Taking Space: How to Use Separations to Explore the Future of Your Relationship provides struggling couples and individuals with a step-by-step process for managing separations. This model allows people to view and use separations as a proactive way to get space, reduce conflict, and focus on self-growth. This method can even work with a non-cooperating partner. This problem-solving road map teaches partners how to design a separation plan that addresses their specific issues by pinpointing 10 essential tasks necessary to maneuver through an often highly stressful experience. The steps are applied through real-life couple situations. Skills, techniques, and coping strategies to empower individuals to overcome feelings of helplessness and victim thinking help create choices where none have been seen previously. Once partners have the tools and time to manage psychological and/or physical separations, they are often better able to make an informed decision about the future of their relationship. Taking Space helps couples use separation to learn, develop, and then recommit to their relationship with adjusted expectations, perspectives, skills, and a stronger sense of themselves.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 8 reviews)

this book is keeping me sane by Kate (San Francisco, CA)

5 Stars
September 06, 2009
I am four months into a separation, and this book is keeping me sane. I don't know which way we will go, but it is of great solace to know that I am neither alone nor crazy for having both hope for and ambivalence about my marriage. I did not intend to show it to my spouse, but it happened to be out when he came over, and he picked it up and asked to borrow it. It's the best book I've read so far about separation (and I've read a lot)! One thing I like about this book is that it is not self-help-ish (there is definitely a place for that, but I don't want only that). Rather, the author's insights are based on clinical psychology. The vignettes about other couples are very helpful.

Great source for separation in any stage by Jaie Livingston

5 Stars
August 30, 2008
This book is helping me understand where I and my husband are in our emotional states, as well as what is missing from the plans for our separation that is making it harder for both of us to move forward. I wish I had gotten it months ago! Using case studies and easy to follow language (not heavy psychological talk) it has practical tools and exercises to follow. I was the 'left spouse' and this book (along with counseling) has helped me to understand what I am needing and feeling to turn a jumbled time into some real personal growth. If you think you need space, are headed for divorce, or want change in your relationship, please read this! It may spare you and your spouse months of conflict and grief.

Good for ANY Couple - Even Happy Ones by Beethoven 4Ever (Phoenix, AZ USA)

5 Stars
August 04, 2007
This is an excellent aid to any marriage, whether in crisis or not. Even happy couples can benefit from new insight and ideas to improve their relationship and monitor its health. I strongly encourage everyone to at least read the first few chapters of the book, as they apply to the relationship. Types of separation (physical or psychological) are discussed later.

a must read for anyone in a relationship by Sarah Stevens (Elgin, Illinois)

5 Stars
July 25, 2007
This book has really helped me! If you or someone you know is struggling in their relationship buy them this book. The concept of taking a "time out" to be with yourself and improve yourself so that you can be a better person in your relationship is priceless advice. All of those folks in that danger zone of divorce or separation need the suggestions given in this book. The many exercises and examples that are offered by Buchicchio are things anyone can do to work on their conflict and create peace with their significant other. I highly recommend this book!!

a wonderful framework for couples working throught challenging times by Ellen Fein (Montpelier, VT United States)

5 Stars
May 18, 2007
this is a great book that offers a new and important way of looking at the issues that arise in any significant partner relationship. it is wonderful not only as a self-help book but also for mental health professionals doing couples work. It is easy to read and packed full of good ideas within the context of "taking space."

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Should I Stay Or Go? : How Controlled Separation (CS) Can Save Your Marriage by Lee Raffel (Author) Until now, couples facing the dilemma of deciding whether or not to stay in an unhappy marriage had three options: individual or couples therapy, separation, or divorce. Should I Stay or Go? provides these couples with a fourth option--the Controlled Separation (CS). Should I Stay or Go? explains CS and shows how it can be used as a tool to help couples make the best decision for both partners.
	Broken Heart on Hold: Surviving Separation by Linda Rooks (Author), Linda W. Rooks (Author) A woman who is separated needs a friend to walk beside her on her difficult journey. Broken Heart on Hold is that friend, one that will uplift, encourage, and hold her up while offering practical insights and pointing her to God. It is a book of hope. Because it is written by a woman who has gone through the trauma of a separation and the eventual healing of her own marriage, the reader will know she is not alone. This collection of honest, heartfelt messages reaches down into the...
	Can Your Relationship Be Saved? How to Know Whether to Stay or Go (Rebuilding Books) by Michael S. Broder (Author) A wise and compassionate guide to assessing a faltering love relationship, and answering the fundamental question asked by the book's title: Can Your Relationship Be Saved? Dr. Broder addresses individuals and couples in marriages, engagements, living-together and dating arrangements or any other type of love relationship or romance -- long- or short-term, and of any sexual orientation. His 40-item "Can Your Relationship Be Saved?" Inventory asks the right questions. But readers are not left...
	Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your Relationship by Mira Kirshenbaum (Author) Drawing on case studies, a psychotherapist offers guidelines to help singles and spouses decide whether to leave a relationship or whether enough good remains to make it worth working through conflicts. Reprint."
	Separated and Waiting by Jan Northington (Author) If you are physically separated from your spouse, chances are you're searching for answers to some very tough questions--such as "Why did this happen to me?" or "How will I cope?" Waiting to be reconciled or divorced can bring confusion, despair, and hopelessness. Whether you've been separated for a short while or a long time, "Separated and Waiting" offers the motivation and understanding you need to bring wholeness back into your life--despite the uncertainty of the future of your...