Fans pick 36 books like Passionate Marriage

I was intrigued by the ideas about why we chose our partners in the first place. I discovered ways to have more compatibility in relationships. This book opened my mind to aspects I had not considered before. Those realizations caused positive shifts in behavior.

And… I had a much better understanding of why my partner approached things the way he did.

This is my favorite book about non-monogamy and polyamory; it uses attachment theory to explain our relationship dynamics. I particularly loved how detailed the book was. She described some of the self-destructive and less-than-ideal behaviors and thoughts I’ve had in past non-monogamous relationships and explained, “Okay, here’s why you’re likely doing this, and here’s how you become secure enough to do this stupid shit, no longer.”

I remember feeling very motivated after reading Fern’s book, as if I had an action plan for future relationships. Now—and hopefully, I’m not jinxing it here—I’m in the healthiest non-monogamous relationship I’ve ever been in. 

I recommend this book because I have found the meaning of love to be elusive. Slipping in and out of my life's timeline. When love stays, it waits for me to generate it alone, by myself, in hopes that I will alchemize it to all of my relationships. Bell Hooks helped me see how to better understand the mystical workings of love, and it's sometimes confusing nature.

Her work helped me appreciate that the endurance of pain is not the presence of love. Allowing love to be an inner source as life-giving, rather than codependently attaching to an outside source, which can be life-ending.

I love Richard Brautigan, and In Watermelon Sugar was my first Brautigan book.

I was in the ninth grade and ready to be transported to a land that was hippie without trying to be so. A living room with trees and a stream. A sun that shines a different color every day, especially on Thursday when the sun shines black and there is no sound.

Written three years before the summer of love, the seeds of the hippie dream-turned-nightmare are already sown. Too much whiskey. And yet, this book lit the way for a life of creativity. Still does.

From classical times when cities first appeared, Hall shows how culture and innovation merge to produce the urban civilization that we have today. Hall’s history is portrayed through his perspectives on 21 cities worldwide, which reflect his previous writings about world cities and the fact that the urban society we have invented is undergoing a rapid transition to a global world composed of cities that are all of one piece.

This is a comprehensive history of cities–read it, and you will be up to date on the history of cities from the point of view of technology and culture.

This little book prods us to silence and solitude to recapture the intimacy that we crave but few experience. I have reread this little book many times and it gently reminds me of what is so easily lost in the hurry of modern life. Our present society has pushed these disciplines, not just off the front burner, but off the stove entirely. When solitude and silence are recaptured, we find ourselves at rest, enjoying the presence of our loving Father.

Our world is filled with people who crave intimacy but don’t know what it means and don’t know how to do it. 

We build up walls trying to protect ourselves but ultimately, we are miserable because we want the closeness of another. Spoiler Alert – Intimacy isn’t sex! Hurst helps us see that intimacy is about knowing our real, authentic self and being willing to share that with others. Though first, we must know where our identity comes from. 

Good mental health requires us to know who we are and be willing to share that authentic self with God and others. Healthy people can do that freely.

Jay, a selfish, self-absorbed screenwriter, reflects on his failings as a lover, husband, and friend on the eve of leaving his wife and children. From the way Jay describes his marriage and his approach to fatherhood, it’s clear he’s more than willing to throw his comfortable life away and damage three innocent people for no other reason than he’s bored, shallow, and desperate to blame his incompetency on those closest to him. What keeps the reader engaged is how painfully funny it all is – Jay’s obliviousness provides ample opportunity for mature audiences to chuckle and shake their heads at every meanspirited quip he makes at his family’s expense. By the end of the book, readers can only feel relief that he’s done them an incredible, and long overdue, service.

Gaige’s writing is terrific, insightful, fresh, and fast-paced. As I read about the fictional couple and their conflicts at sea, I was struck by the similarities to our real-life sailing experience. In a fabulous first scene, the wife hides in a closet, unable to deal with reality. She reluctantly goes on a voyage with her husband and their lives change, much as ours did. I never hid in a closet, but before the voyage, I was someone who if I didn’t like reality, ignored it. At sea, that’s not possible. 

I love this book because it balances the desire to get up close and personal while watching two men find their way to an emotionally strong relationship so well.

It’s kinky, sexy, and British. The dialogue is great, and the descriptions are great. And in places, it is pure smut.