As a woman married for more than 40 years, I celebrate Robert Alter's no-nonsense approach to the challenge that a commitment to staying married truly is. And I wish this book had been around 25 years ago as my husband and I struggled to make our way to a now-wonderful relationship. The angry reviews from men do not surprise me - these are the men who blame women and fail to take responsibility for their own troubled relationships. It is sad for them, and even more for the women who love them and want to stay married. Sometimes the book made me laugh out loud, for example, the two-sentence chapter on getting in touch with feelings (Yeah, right) and the three-paragraph chapter on men's sexuality. All in all, Alter's book brings many gems, polished and otherwise, for men and women. I'm passing around my second copy to my married children.