Project Everlasting
Two Bachelors Discover the Secret of America’s Greatest Marriages
By Mathew Boggs and Jason Miller (Fireside, $23)
The unmarried authors embarked on a 12,000-mile road trip, interviewing couples who had been married at least 40 years, to determine what makes a lasting union. Why look to single men for advice on marriage? With a divorce rate hovering around 50 percent the better question is, why not?
1. Look for a mate who shares your values regarding family and money. “If you value family time first and your wife’s way more fascinated with making a lot of money, then there are going to be some major problems.”
2. Creating a list of required qualities for your ideal mate narrows your options. Ditch the list.
3. “If you find yourself drifting apart, take responsibility for your actions, put your ego aside, and be the husband you promised to be.”
4. Relationships are not era specific. “Irritations, in-laws, income issues, and insecurities — all the elements that can strain a marriage — haven’t actually changed all that much over the years.”
5. The key to the success of longtime marriages is the couples’ bravery and determination to work through failures and fix them.
