When we quit sabotaging intimacy in our relationships by demanding unconditional love, we discover something much greater-the deeply satisfying, transformational love that is companionship.

In this book psychologist Kelly Flannagan shows how each of us has within ourselves, exactly the way we are, the gifts that are needed to cultivate the life-long relationship we are longing for, whether it is within marriage or friendship. He shows us how self-knowledge leads the way to growing in love for both God and others. He shows us how understanding our own loneliness can help us relieve the pressure on our companions. And he shows us how understanding our own psychological and emotional defenses can help us to make the choice to love more vulnerably. More than a marriage book, this is a companionship book. Anyone-from single young adults to elderly married couples, from the divorced to the widowed, from siblings to friends-can benefit from the wisdom it uncovers about what it means to be human and to be true companions.