Love, Explained: Practical Strategies to Find and Keep the Love You Deserve, from the Science of Love and Affection - Softcover

Marshall, Scott

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0999450603 ISBN 13: 9780999450604

Publisher: SCOTT MARSHALL, 2017

Synopsis

Love has been called the only mysterious human relation. “Love, Explained” promises to eliminate that mystery with a comprehensive and revolutionary theory of love informed by what we now know about its biological foundations. The result of this new understanding is practical strategies to master the art of being a more loving person. All types of love are covered, not just romantic, but also between parent and child, and between siblings. The thread common to all of them is revealed. The basic questions we have about love are addressed, such as: what love is, why we love, why love fails, how to create new love, how to preserve the love we have, and how to restore lost love. What is the connection between love and health? Why are feelings of love so intense? Why does supposedly eternal, unconditional love sometimes turn into intense hate in the blink of an eye? How can we avoid repeating the mistakes of our parents’ relationships, or of our previous, unsuccessful relationships? At every step, “Love, Explained” turns science-based theory into practice. From what love is we advance to how love works, and end up with ways we can be better at any kind of loving relationship. It’s all based on what the latest hard science reveals. We don’t need love to be a mystery. The yield of banishing the mystery is to gain knowledge, and the yield of knowledge is to make progress in mastering the art loving others, and inspiring others to love us. The book concludes with an assessment of our epidemic of loneliness and a prescription for how we can all contribute to making this world a more loving place.

About this title

Review

A straight-talking and frequently eye-opening discourse on the true nature of love.

Marshall’s nonfiction debut seeks to dispel the mysticism and inaccuracy that has, in his opinion, clouded discussion of love throughout human history. He attributes much of the inaccuracy to the fact that humans were experiencing love and writing about it for millennia before they were able to understand the most basic science of attraction and desire. In his quest to demystify his subject and “put the theory of love into practice,” Marshall is often blunt, such as when he writes that “feelings are the messages from our DNA of what we should do, directly or indirectly, to spawn the next generation.” However, the author saves his analysis from degenerating into mere deterministic materialism by pointing out that humans aren’t simply imagining such intangibles as affection or trust, and that they’re right to value such things for emotional and pragmatic reasons. He follows his inquiry into troubling concepts, such as how loneliness can lead some people into the self-destructive pursuit of unhealthy relationships—a particularly insightful section. Marshall’s prose is clear and straightforward, smoothly untangling complex subjects and shedding light on apparent contradictions; at one point, for example, he writes that “couples and families can be physically together but emotionally alone,” while also stressing the scientific aspects of love and connection. Readers who are partial to the romance of love may find some of his conclusions disillusioning, but Marshall’s discussions of the societal and evolutionary advantages of love are worthwhile. - Kirkus Reviews

Edition details

• Publisher: SCOTT MARSHALL
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0999450603
• ISBN 13: 9780999450604
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 166