The Top 10 Marriage Essentials is a reflection of the couples work that Paul Shaffer has done over his lengthy career as a professional counselor. Moving past his books on couples conflict resolution Marriage Essentials addresses ten of the most common dilemmas that chronically show themselves in marriages realistic role expectations creating true intimacy keeping the marriage as a priority maintaining healthy boundaries fostering respect practicing validation exercising loving accountability embracing forgiveness dealing with differing perceptions a healthy you Equal time is spent addressing both the problem and the solutions with summary questions included to personalize the reading experience and promote further discussion for the couple.