The Laws of Love: Creating the Relationship of Your Dreams Paperback – January 15, 2012

Another great read by Chris Prentiss! Thank you!

I 1st received a book by this author for a gift Zen & The Art of Happiness. I'm sure it was a grab gift for me and it sat on the shelf for months. Finally read it and WOW it was great. So I ordered more of this author Laws of Love is also great! So was Be Who you want to Be. Then to top if off Wu Wei his pen name for the I Ching series has been on my bookshelf for decades. He resonates with me, keep calm, your life is destined for learning and happiness. Pay attention to what you say, do, where you go who you go with, why, etc etc. Also found out he is a co- founder of a treatment center in CA. from an acquaintance who unfortunately had to live there, it also is an amazing look into how & why we do what we do with the same principals taught.

This was a wonderful book that will help your relationship grow, but will also give you clear guidance on when to leave. It will become immediately apparent why previous relationships did not work out, and will give you tools & tips to improve your current relationship. You'll be moved by the letter that he wrote to his future wife, before she was known to him.

The Laws of Love is a relationship self-help book that has liberal amounts of "trendy fad gimmick" and fairly solid advice, so it's worth taking with a proverbial grain of salt. It's sort of a twelve-step program for healthy romantic relationships except instead of twelve steps there are fourteen "laws of love." The "trendy fad gimmick" is that these "laws" claim to be inspired by the fundamental laws of the universe.Just as there are Universal Laws of Physics (such as gravity and inertia), the author argues, so too are there Universal Laws of Metaphysics (such as be nice and people will like you, tell lies and people will distrust you). While the logic of this is seductive, it's also hopelessly flawed. Newton's Laws were never meant to be applied this way and I think the author knows it. Saying something is true because it resembles something else that is known to be true is not science. It's not even pseudoscience. It's simply an attempt to borrow scientific principals to make one's own claim seem weightier, like when shampoo commercials brag about pH balance. And when the author attempts to refute chaos theory as a way to allay people's relationship anxiety, well, I laughed out loud at his wilful ignorance.Nonetheless, the book is not without merit. There are some solid points hidden among the nonsense like the idea that the only thing each of us truly can control is ourselves--our own actions and reactions--and we should focus first on our own choices before lamenting that we can't get our partners to do what we want.And I do see some value in the externalization of causation that the book proposes. It doesn't say "it's God's will" nor does it say "nothing is your fault because everything is up to the Universe." But what it does say is, "If you follow certain patterns in your behaviour and choices you can expect certain outcomes." Thus, if you continually find yourself in bad relationships, maybe it's time to take stock of your patterns. It doesn't say, "You're a bad person and you deserve what you get" but "these are laws of human interaction that you should be aware of." It gives the reader permission to be objective about their own patterns with focusing on judgement or morality. I think that approach would appeal to a lot of people and could be very helpful.I also like that the author doesn't promise a miracle cure to every relationship. He acknowledges that "some relationships aren't worth saving" and presents a way for people to empower themselves to be happy (with or without their current partner).Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for writing a review, though the review did not necessarily need to be favourable, just honest. I frequently read and review books for this reason, but I am always very truthful (and, I hope, fair) in my reviews. Therefore any opinions expressed are strictly my own.

I find Zen and the Art of Happiness, Chris Prentiss's earlier book, so helpful that I take it with me on trips to keep me centered. I have learned a tremendous amount from Be Who You Want, Have What You Want. I bought The Laws of Love thinking it wouldn't be too different from his earlier works, but be at least as good. Unfortunately, it's not. The first weakness is organization. Prentiss's emphasis, as always, is on becoming the kind of person who is happy, ethical, and loving. You therefore will draw into your life the love you want, because you know how to give it. It would have been useful, then, if Prentiss had grouped the laws about being and becoming a happy, ethical, loving person earlier, before ones having to do with a relationship you're already in. Unfortunately, the arrangement in the book is haphazard, and weakens the points Prentiss makes.The second problem has to do with Prentiss's conviction that, in order for a love relationship to succeed fully, it must be the most important thing in your life. Making your lover happy must be your first priority. If something else--a job, a hobby--is not compatible with your relationship, it must go. If you get a wonderful job offer and your spouse doesn't want the move it will entail (the example Prentiss uses),you must refuse the job, Surely, there are some circumstances under which the right thing to do is to refuse the offer. But there's more--much, much more--to be said about how to discuss this, about how to weigh what's important to each of you, about how to decide whether there are ways for each of you to have what truly matters to you, than Prentiss says. He does say that he's not advocating putting up with whatever your true love wants, or giving in to all demands, but he has almost nothing to say that is clarifying about which demands you rush to fulfill, and which you resist or negotiate. Since keeping your significant other happy is a big part of what he's advocating, more detail here is crucial, and he doesn't provide it.I'm sorry, but this was a disappointing book from a man who has a lot of wisdom to share, but who didn't manage to do it very well here.

In this wise little book Chris Prentiss shows that we create our relationships -- they don't just happen by accident. Small acts of kindness and gentle generosity can make all the difference in keeping our love and our relationships alive. Something as simple as asking our partner what they need from us when we find ourselves having a disagreement can work wonders. Prentiss shares 14 Laws of Love that will enable you and your loved one to sustain a tender relationship and a deeper love. Highly recommended!

Love Chris Prentiss, but preferred his books on drug and alcohol addictions. This is quite positive and worth reading.I don't think it addresses many of the real problems that effect real life relationships.