cover image I'm Right...You're Wrong. Now What?

I'm Right...You're Wrong. Now What?

Jaclynn Morris, Paul L. Fair. Sourcebooks, $14.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-4022-0179-0

In their second book together (after From Me to You: The Reluctant Writer's Guide to Powerful, Personal Messages), counselors Morris and Flair offer a somewhat unconventional solution to romantic woes--if your partner won't face up to a particular problem, they say, start by trying to fix it yourself. Approaching a conflict with six basic questions, such as""What are my negative feelings?,""""Why do I want to work things out?"" and""How would I like things between us to be?,"" one half of an unhappy couple can put a new twist on an argument and offer fresh perspective and hope. Working primarily in a coffee shop, Morris and Flair surveyed dozens of acquaintances, friends and volunteers slogging through a slew of potentially disastrous issues: nosy in-laws, religious differences, and difficult or extracurricular sex lives. The book consists mostly of these case studies, along with commentary and""coaching tips"" for answering the six questions in positive, constructive ways. Almost every situation considered here ends happily once the cooperative partner completes Morris and Flair's experiment and confronts his or her mate. This might worry those readers who feel their problems can't be solved so easily, but Morris and Flair offer solid advice and present a new line of attack for working through conflicts of any size.