How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk
by John van Epp, PhD (McGraw Hill, $22.95)
Nobody willfully marries a jerk. But, inevitably, people end up hitched to husbands or wives who live down to that label. Enter therapist John van Epp, whose how-to manual reads more like a how-not-to. And although it might rankle divorce attorneys, it could keep readers from making a costly and painful mistake.
1. A jerk can be either sex. “The only difference is the package they come in.”
2. The Relationship Attachment Model, a “plan for building a relationship and confidently choosing a partner,” comprises the following prompts: Know, Trust, Rely, Commit, Touch.
3. “Healthy people make healthy choices; thus being the best person you can be is necessary for building a healthy relationship.”
4. “You can’t marry Jethro without gettin’ the Clampetts.” In other words, your potential spouse is a product of, and an ongoing member of, his or her family.
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5. “A good partner can turn into a jerk when forces either outside or inside the relationship make him or her self-absorbed.”