Loving Me First: the journey to discover your inner self....

I vividly recall the day that I made the decision to write my book Loving Me First. While sitting in a bunker in Iraq, following a bombing, a gentleman whispered to me “I wish I had gotten things right with my wife.” I am a Psychotherapist by profession, I responded to him by saying, “Is there anything specific that you want me to tell her? I’m getting out of here alive.” Comprehending the intensity of that moment, I jokingly said to him “Now, I need you to move to the other end of the bunker because this is the surviving end.” We all laughed. I begin to ask others what they wanted me to share with family members or the world. It was important to share their story, insights, and experiences, especially considering the potential reality of death. Each time there was a bombing, I asked people to share their thoughts about relationships. Over a two year period, these discussions moved beyond the bunkers, men and women representing twenty-five different countries shared their experiences. Three common themes emerged: communication, sexual intimacy and emotional pain; similar to my observations with patients in the United States. Loving Me First is a unisex book that does not focus on marriage, helping you to find the perfect partner, or any other variable outside of your direct control; it examines various components of relationship experiences from a global perspective. It discusses variables that impede the cultivation of deeper intimacy, offers a collective summary of cross-cultural relationship experiences, encapsulates life lessons learned, and overs eight insights for transformational growth and emotional healing. Loving Me First empowers the reader to move forward in life with hope and happiness.