Lessons on relationships and marriage from the main protagonist

[Radhika_]

He always sacrificed for his family. He keeps their needs first and never thinks about his happiness. I think the best thing I learned from him is to don't break the relationship. He never wanted to break his marriage but eventually, it ended on a bad note. The time when he needs assurance from Rachel she was never there to give him one. But still, he was thinking about her. I liked the way he cares for her.

[Echo Haapala]

I think one of the main lessons we can take away from their relationships is that communication is so important.

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

Marriage requires commitment and selflessness. When.either of the parties in a relationship puts work or adventure first, the relationship or marriage is at risk.

[Nkoo]

Marriage relationships require some work. Sacrifices are also inevitable in marriages. The single thread that runs through the men's marriages was that of a lack of adequate communication. The narrator and his wife were not communicating the way they ought to, Rachel took her husband's needs for granted and drove him into the arms of another woman eventually. Were the narrator as passionate about his family the way he was about Man Mission, who knows, their marriage might have succeeded.

[Rachel Lea]

The biggest relationship lesson that I garnered from reading this book is the importance of honesty, communication, and patience with your partner.

[Browlyns]

What led to the failure of the main protagonist marriage is lack of communication. He failed to take the advice of the Japanese who told him to tell his family every day that he loves them, this led them to grow apart.

[readerrihana]

To be honest I understood the situation to highlight the problems of men and women in relationships. He was not communicating his needs and felt unloved, neglected and unappreciated, even hurt, whereas his wife seemed un appreciative, ungrateful, not very understanding and selfish. I think that there are many real relationships that have these two characters, and possibly similar outcomes

[Ten10]

The protagonist and Daniel have been having marital problems for some time and just bottled them inside until it turned into a venom biting from inside. That led to marital conflicts. Their experiences teaches men to open up on their plight.

[eastandalchemy]

I felt that all of the couples struggled with a lack of communication at one point or another--especially the protagonist and his wife. It's hard not to wonder what would have happened if they had explored counseling (or just being brutally honest with one another) when their problems first arose instead of burying those issues beneath family and work responsibilities.

[sri varshini303041]

I understood that basic understanding and communication between married couple. Also, one should realize when it's time to let go to fix ourselves.

[IchbineinBerliner]

Rachel was the dominant partner in that marriage. The narrator struck me as passive in so many ways. Sometimes, because of their intense dislike for conflict, passive people will put up with a LOT of unpleasantness rather than stand up for themselves. Anyone has a breaking point, though, past which even change is an acceptable risk. As you said, he was under a lot of pressure.

Consciously or not, I think the narrator wanted to be caught. Why else put his motel bills on credit cards when his wife has access to the bills?

[Perfect_101]

Marriage is not always "Happy ever after" as most people perceive. However, communication and understanding can really help your marriage to survive.

If only the main protagonist communicated his feelings and challenges to his wife, well maybe his wife would have helped smoothen things. Perhaps she would have come to the realization that, yes there is money but it comes with huge sacrifice. A good wife should be there for their husband even when the going is tough, even if it means getting a part time job in order to ease things out.

Well, I also learnt that sometimes we women are to be blamed when our husbands go out cheating. Even though the main protagonist cheated on his wife, this should not be entirely be blamed on him. It was easy for him to be tempted to cheat because clearly his wife had changed. She did not want to be touched, she always had the same usual excuse of being tired. Where else was he supposed to get someone to fulfill his desires??

As I read this book I kept wishing my husband was a reader, because I learnt a great deal and I know he to would have.

[habsfan212]

The most valuable lesson was communication in my opinion. Rachel and the protagonist fake being a happy family for so long instead of talking about the real problem. That's a lot of years wasted...and none of us can afford to lose time of our life this way. Communication is essential, even if it leads to people to break up, as long long as it leads to happiness in the long run.

[Lexiem]

I think the main lesson that can be drawn from these relationships is that relationships take a lot of effort and commitment. Not one of these relationships was perfect which is a true reflection of what relationships are like in the real world.

[Bookreviwer2020]

I guess I understood from all of their stories that relationships are not as simple as we suppose. They require work, sacrifice, understanding and so forth.