Real-life experts demonstrate how you can prepare your marriage for almost anything

First Kiss to Lasting Bliss: Hope & Inspiration for Your Marriage—for couples of all ages and stages who want to achieve a blissful marriage.

Can your marriage survive an affair, loss of a child, drug addiction, serious illness, a long separation, financial ruin, and the test of time? If you didn’t answer an emphatic ,“Yes!” you need to read the real-life stories of couples who have not only survived but thrived despite these and many other pressures that rip most marriages apart.

Why do some marriages survive and thrive despite turmoil? The real marriage experts—married for decades—share their inspirational stories. Learn the secrets of marriage they uncovered that brought them profound happiness, even after the pain.

First Kiss to Lasting Bliss will give you the insight to protect and strengthen your marriage despite today’s challenges or any future obstacles that may come your way. These inspirational love stories provide examples of what real marriage is all about and show that great marriages are not perfect. It’s the twists and turns that keep life (and their stories) interesting.

For your convenience, First Kiss to Lasting Bliss is now available in the following formats:

(Please see the free gifts offer at the end of this page—free no matter what format you choose!)*

Purchase a print version here at Amazon.

Purchase a Kindle version here at Amazon.

Purchase an iPad/iBook version here at iTunes.

Purchase a Nook version here at Barnes & Noble.

Purchase a Sony eReader version here at Sony.

Purchase a PDF version of the book here using PayPal.

Couples featured in the book were interviewed across the country and include experiences of overcoming:

Loss of a child
Drug addiction
Infertility
Military separation
Stranger rape
Infidelity
Raising special-needs child
Financial crisis/bankruptcy
Brain injury
Cancer
Opposing religions
Differing races
Unsupportive family
Life-threatening accidents and illnesses
And more!

Their inspiring stories demonstrate that the success of a marriage is not based on one’s circumstances, but on a commitment to one another even during the most difficult times. The book doesn’t just skim the surface with pithy quotes or nuggets of wisdom, but allows readers to feel like they understand the couples’ lives, background and their challenges.

You’ll also receive 12 lessons to boost your marriage. For example, a couple who was separated during a year-long deployment to Iraq shows us exactly how they “infused their marriage and lives with gratitude” despite the fact that the wife was at home caring for four very young children, and the husband was in a very dangerous job with the ultimate responsibility of saving lives. If they can focus on gratitude despite those real challenges, we can all learn how to focus more on it. Research shows this improvement alone will boost your relationship and tighten your marriage bond. Each chapter contains general advice from the couples as well.

Endorsements:

"In her new book, FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS, author Lori Lowe artfully explores the life-changing events of married individuals and helps us to understand how couples manage to keep love alive against all odds. She weaves beautiful and inspiring tales of real-life challenges and helps readers see how people can rise above their circumstances, and, like carbon compressed under severe pressure, emerge as bright and hopeful as diamonds."

--Scott Haltzman, M.D., author The Secrets of Happily Married Women, The Secrets of Happily Married Men, and The Secrets of Happy Families

"Lori Lowe’s FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS is a must-read for anyone in a troubled marriage, or anyone whose marriage could use some inspiration. Lowe takes us on a vivid tour through the lives of a dozen married couples, each of whom faced unique forms of adversity. These real-life stories provide role models, knowledge and skills for coping with crisis that helped each of these couples survive and flourish. When marriages are in crisis, many couples simply call it quits. Lowe’s stories show how, after a period of struggle, many couples find lasting happiness and a strengthened marriage."

--Chris Gersten, Former Principal Deputy Asst. Secretary, Admin. for Children and Families, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (2001-2005); launched the President's Healthy Marriage Initiative; marriage educator and author; Chair, Coalition for Divorce Reform.

"Working as a Marriage and Family Therapist over the past 23 years, I have heard the stories of couples as they journey through the challenges of marriage. Through her interviews, Lori captures in words some pictures of what these relationships experience, from enchantment to disenchantment and, for those who work hard, the path of recovery. This is an inspiring book that will inform and encourage any of us who care about this age-old institution called marriage. FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS is a story of hope for couples of all ages and stages."

--Timothy Heck, Ph.D., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Indianapolis, Indiana

"If your marriage is on the rocks, step away from the ice cream and open this book instead. In FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS, Lori Lowe has created the rarest of delights: calorie-free comfort food for the married person's soul. With stories from real couples who faced the worst and managed to stay happily married despite it all, this book provides hope, inspiration and the advice you need to navigate the toughest of times."

--Alisa Bowman, author of Project: Happily Ever After (Running Press, Dec. 2010)

"There is a reason marriage vows are 'for better or worse,' because all marriages go through difficult times, and too many face deep crises. However, the message of FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS is one of hope. A dozen couples, many whose marriages were stressed nearly to the breaking point, lived their vows and stepped back, building great marriages. This is an inspiring book our divorce-prone culture needs to read."

--Michael J. McManus, president & co-founder, Marriage Savers

“Good for Lori Lowe for writing a book on successful couples. As a marriage counselor who reads in the field constantly, I can tell you there are precious few such books. Of course, there are books with positive messages, but few that paint a portrait of happy couples. We need to hear the stories of real couples who feel their struggles have been worth it and believe their marriage enriches their lives. Sad but true, too many people do not know any happily married people personally. So when they are struggling, they don't have a role model. We all need a vision of what happy marriage is in the real world to inspire us now and then.”

--Claire Hatch, LICSW, a marriage counselor in the Seattle area. Author of Save Your Marriage: Get Rid of Your Resentment

"Lori Lowe gets it. 'Life' has a tendency to get in the way of our best-laid plans, and this is certainly true when it comes to our most sacred relationships. In FIRST KISS TO LASTING BLISS, Lori empowers married couples to persevere by sharing the amazing stories of twelve couples who faced incredible adversity but overcame the odds to keep their marriages strong and shining examples of true love."

--Dustin Riechmann, author of 15 Minute Marriage Makeover and founder of the Engaged Marriage blog

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading From First Kiss to lasting Bliss. The author took the time to interview and truly capture the essence of twelve couples who have all overcome serious obstacles to their relationship. In each chapter, Lowe shares the story of a couple whose marriage was severely tested, and ultimately strengthened, by going through their challenges.

Her writing style is easy and engaging. It feels like you are making new friends as you read about their lives and what they went through to become an even stronger couple. Lowe extracts a lesson from each couple for creating a strong marriage, which she summarizes at the end of the book. There are twelve important lessons brought alive by the generous sharing of each couples' story. This book is truly a gem."

--Kim Olver, author of Secrets of Happy Couples

For more details or interviews with Lori, go to www.Facebook.com/LastingBliss.

FREE Thank-You Gifts!

I’m so excited that these great marriage encouragers have agreed to provide the following gifts. Purchase any format of First Kiss to Lasting Bliss, and receive all of the following as a thank-you! Just email your receipt to me Lori (at) Lowe-Group (dot com), and I’ll send you the links or attachments. I encourage you to visit their sites for more awesome resources.

Free audio download to Five Keys to Really Great Sex Tonight—even if you’re Not in the Mood by Gina Parris of Winning at Romance. (Yowza, who wouldn’t want that?)
Two free chapters of The 15-Minute Marriage Makeover by Dustin Riechmann of Engaged Marriage. (A great strategy for busy couples to boost their relationship!)
Power of Two, which provides entertaining and thoroughly helpful marriage education online, is giving buyers access to two flash games with pdf tips. It’s an interactive module to help couples understand how arguments happen and how to avoid miscommunications that lead to arguments. The videos are short and fun, and you learn something along the way. It can give you a taste of all the great resources available at PO2.com. For modern couples who want to learn skills fast—without getting bored!
A free iPhone app that includes healthy marriage tips and great date night suggestions from Debi Walter at The Romantic Vineyard. Now you'll have conversation starters and other tips to help you connect on a deeper level.
A copy of The Simple Marriage Manifesto, which profound advice from marital therapist Corey Allan, PhD of Simple Marriage.
A copy of marriage and family therapist Lisa Brookes Kift's The Marriage Refresher Course Workbook. The 69- page workbook is for couples to use together and provides a framework for you to strengthen the relationship foundation that supports your marriage. It's an interactive format with worksheets, and journaling space makes it a great keepsake for you and your spouse – to help you keep sight of what’s important to your marriage.
An e-book from Matthew with Adventure-Some.com called Ready-To-Go Dates. It provides 20 dates that can be done anywhere and take less than 20 minutes of planning/prep.

Here’s how to get your copy of First Kiss to Lasting Bliss today!

Print version: Amazon.com

Kindle version: Amazon Kindle

iBook version: iBook

Nook version: Barnes & Noble

Sony version: Sony

Or, instantly download the PDF version:

Read the introduction right now…

Introduction:

Hunting for Perfection

Wading waist-deep down Missouri’s Fox River on a hot summer day, I learned to hunt for geodes. These semi-round sedimentary rocks, said to be 350 million years old, contain hidden crystals. The casual hiker sees rocks, but geode hunters notice their cauliflower-shaped exterior and envision gem-like interiors.

At the sweet, shallow spot of “The Fox,” abundant geodes range in size from a newborn’s fist to more than 100 pounds, discovered under the water and lying nearby in the grass, as if tossed there during an Easter Egg hunt for us to find. We also found them lodged in the riverbanks with ten feet of earth pressing down on them—half circles poking out of the earthen wall, waiting for erosion to release them into the river.

Geodes’ sparkling interiors are generally white or clear, but some are colored, depending on mineral content. The product of a combination of water, natural chemicals, pressure, and heat, each porous geode is unique. There is no way to tell which will open to reveal a crystal treasure and which will reveal a solid mass or a greasy ball of sediment.

We’re a lot like geodes, and so are our marriages. Without exception, we feel pressure from all sides, which can at times feel like the weight of the world. There is no shortage of muck dredged up in our society and no way to prevent seepage of this sediment into our lives. Some people, like geodes, use stressful situations to help shape, improve, and crystallize themselves. Others crumble under the pressure, store the muck for someone else to discover, or become hardened masses—of no real value to others.

For this book, I interviewed happily married couples across the country, some who have faced intense adversity—the kind that would pummel most marriages—yet became closer as a result. I tried to discover what made some marriages succeed despite hardship, while others wash away with the first storm. Successful couples don’t just “overcome” adversity; instead, they become changed by it and incorporate what they have learned into a more perfect union.

We’re all hunting for perfection—in ourselves, in others, and in our relationships. We won’t find it by looking at the outer shell. Just as there isn’t just one path for creating an ideal geode (volcanic geodes differ greatly in composition and form from Mexican “coconut” geodes, for example), there certainly isn’t one recipe for an extraordinary marriage, although there are some common ingredients. Since we have different needs and personalities, no magic technique will work for all marriages. Still, despite our range of challenges, we humans share similar fears, desires, and longings. So when some couples uncover what makes a marriage—even one fraught with major obstacles—work well, we want to hear their story, to draw our own conclusions and to add them to our own life experiences. Success stories are all around us if we listen.

At some point, all marriages will face intense pressure. Will the pressure change you? Undoubtedly. Will it break you apart? Maybe. It may also create something entirely new and better than expected, like the twin-chambered geode, a merger of two hollow geodes. Learning how others have handled crises can help you prepare for your own.

Lest we think true love is a one-in-a-million find, consider that each spring, countless geodes are released from the earth, a seemingly impossible product of millions of years of time and energy. Be open to the possibility that your hunt for perfection is over, that your marriage is perfect but unfinished, being honed by outside forces, in the same way that a child is a perfect but incomplete person—no less perfect because of he or she is in the early stages in life.

The couples profiled in this book are from different generations and walks of life, but they all became united in their difficulties. Those who faced multiple tests found their marriage became stronger with each one. Each couple found joy together, even amidst chaotic lives. These are not couples who merely “stuck it out”; theirs are great love stories whose commitment is not dependent on their circumstances. I hope they contribute to your own love story.

Don’t forget to email me at Lori (at) Lowe-Group (dot com) to receive your free gifts! Thanks so much. I wish you lasting bliss in all of your relationships.