Title:
If you're in my office, it's already too late : a divorce lawyer's guide to staying together
Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Publication Date:
2018
Publication Information:
New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2018.
©2018
Physical Description:
xix, 262 pages : 25 cm
ISBN:
9781250130778
Abstract:
After dealing with more than a thousand clients whose marriages have dissolved over everything from an ill-advised threesome with the nanny to the uneven division of carpool duties, Sexton also knows all of the what-not-to-dos for couples who want to build--and consistently work to preserve--a lasting, fulfilling relationship. Described by former clients as a "courtroom gunslinger" and "the sociopath you want on your side," Sexton tells the unvarnished truth about relationships, diving straight into the most common marital problems. These usually derive from dishonest--or nonexistent--communication. Even when the alleged reason for separation is one spouse's new "personal trainer," there's likely a communication problem that predates the fitness kick. Sexton has spent his career working with spouses-to-be-no-longer. Though he deals constantly with the heartbreak of others, he still believes in romance and the transformative power of love.
Contents:
Take the path they didn't -- What is the problem to which marriage is the solution? -- Storytelling: there's an arc there, somewhere -- Hit send now -- You can be right or you can be happy -- Expectation vs. reality -- Tight grips and loose arms -- Reading minds and accepting appearances -- Everyone's fucking the nanny -- Gratuitous time-out: and yes, I meant everyone is fucking the nanny -- Married people: pretend you're not -- Go without or go elsewhere -- Did you spend more time shopping for your car or for your spouse? -- Actually, past performance is indicative of future results -- The five kinds of infidelity -- Infidelity type #3: the mistake -- It's so much easier to change the other person -- Gratuitous time-out: lie to me; everybody else does -- The you, the me, and the we -- If we were designing an infidelity-generating machine, it would be Facebook -- One of the pillars of marriage is sex -- We know what we know until we may not want to know it -- Gratuitous time-out: I love my job, except for when I hate it -- You never go to bed with just one person -- Divide and conquer -- What you're getting and what you're giving -- The myth of the perfect parent -- You divorce who you married -- Gratuitous time-out: The case of the shrinking penis -- Know yourself -- Intimacy weaponized, Part I -- Intimacy weaponized, Part II: Cross-examination -- Argue better -- Gut, heart, and head -- The author of your story -- Who are you? -- Gratuitous time-out: How not to let yourself be cross-examined -- Write a letter -- Yours, mine, and ours: the financial system that works best -- Design, not default -- Acceptance: you have to love the bad parts, too -- The secret that shouldn't be a secret: just give a shit -- Cannibals.
Language:
English