Media Update: For Better

The reviews and media are just starting:

This review just in from Newsweek:

“Parker-Pope isn’t a doctor, but she plays one on The New York Times’s Web site, and here she’s moonlighting as a sort of marriage counselor. But instead of platitudes about caring and sharing, she makes her arguments with the durable evidence of scientific studies. This makes for a book that is both trustworthy (you know where her theories come from) and entertaining (did you know it’s a documented fact that among gay couples, partners share housework equally? Honey? Did you know that?).”

And this from the Los Angeles Times:

“Excellent… Parker-Pope seeks to help other people make better choices and save or strengthen their own relationships. Her passion for the subject creates a driving momentum that propels the reader through the book as she attempts to answer the question, ‘What makes a good marriage?’… As she examines the science of long-term relationships from courtship through commitment, Parker-Pope skillfully weaves together research findings, relationship advice and personal reflections.”

I did the first of two interviews on the Today Show on May 10th. Here’s the video:

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Countless self-help books have been written about marriage. It’s the rare work, however, that has the rigor and factual grounding of For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage. Written with a sharp eye by New York Times health reporter Tara Parker-Pope, the book examines research studies on marriage and distills their findings into lessons for couples. Some are more convincing than others. Researchers have found, for example, a parallel between housework and sex: The happier wives are about the division of chores, the happier husbands are with their sex lives.”

From the Wall Street Journal:

“While some of the research in this book has been reported before, no one has presented it in such a clear, comprehensive context. Whatever your curiosity or concern about marriage, it is almost certainly addressed here. I wish this book had been around for me to read before I married; I intend to give it as a gift to others who are preparing to tie the knot.”

From Salon.com — a review and also an interview with me about “the science behind monogamy, our mythical divorce rate and Americans’ problems with arranged marriage”

“Parker-Pope argues that the marital bond isn’t nearly as mysterious as you might believe, and unlike the vast majority of authors on the subject, she uses credible scientific research to back up her claims about everything from sex to housework.”

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