Are You Married to Your Roommate . . . or Your Lover? Whether you’ve been married for six years or six decades, you may wake up one day to discover that the person sleeping next to you has become a stranger. Between work, kids, financial woes, and the busyness of everyday living, your marriage may feel like it’s on life support. You and your spouse love each other, but you’re both barely hanging on. How do you find your way back? How do you reconnect with your spouse and capture all that marriage is intended to be? Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley understand. Despite being hailed as marriage experts, they found themselves living more like roommates than lovers. Through intentional work, they fought their way back, and you can too. In Reconnected, they’ll walk alongside you and your spouse as you learn to reconnect by: Sharing life-giving communication Dreaming together about your future Rekindling romance and passion Embracing your individuality while coming together as a couple Transforming your life from one of busyness to one of connection Take your marriage from surviving to thriving. Reconnect with your first love.

We’re all in this together. Strong social connections make communities more resilient. But today Australians have fewer close friends and local connections than in the past, and more of us say we have no-one to turn to in tough times. How can we turn this trend around? In Reconnected, Andrew Leigh and Nick Terrell look at some of the most successful community organisations and initiatives – from conversation groups to community gardens, from parkrun to Pub Choir – to discover what really works. They explore ways to encourage philanthropy and volunteering, describe how technology can be used effectively, and introduce us to remarkable and inspirational leaders. Reconnected is an essential guide for anyone interested in strengthening social ties. ‘Reconnected offers practical ideas, told through engaging stories of successful community-builders, about how to build a more connected Australia.’ —Robert D. Putnam, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and author of Bowling Alone and The Upswing ‘This inspiring collection of strategies and stories brings hope for the future. Reconnected shows that we are the revolution.’ —Dr Catherine Barrett, founder of The Kindness Pandemic

Over time, the business of life creeps in and even the most deeply committed couples can feel like they're living parallel lives rather than enjoying life together. Their once happily-ever-after can quickly turn into an endless grind of work, chores, errands and carpool. And the pull of social media becomes more compelling than engaging with one's spouse. In this book, Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley offer practical ways to rekindle the passionate, intimate, heart-to-heart spark of connection between husbands and wives.

Facebook united Allison Braden to a daughter she never met or knew, or even gave birth to. RECONNECTED: A NOVEL SYNOPSIS ALLISON BRADEN is content with how her life unfolds in front of her. With a high-paying job as a scientist in a small biotechnology company, and a very understanding boyfriend, Alli could not ask for more, yet her past shakes-up her serene life. At 38, Alli has made peace with a life without children to tend to, and settled with JAMES, a lawyer who lost faith in the institution of marriage and even raising a family. But with a click of the mouse, Alli's life changes. She discovers, through Facebook, that she has a daughter halfway around the globe. ALLYSON is Alli's daughter, a cute little girl named after her; a daughter she never met or knew, or even gave birth to. PROLOGUE The cursor was pointed at a small photo. The profile picture was only a little larger than a thumbnail. Alli leaned back, not sure if the features in the picture she was looking at resembled most of hers. Aware that the mind can play tricks, she moved forward and studied the picture again. Is she only seeing what she wanted to see? The beating of her heart increased. She clicked the photo, hoping to enlarge the frame, but the picture remained small. She stared and stared and stared, hypnotized by the computer screen. *** Scientist by day, novelist by night. Emilio Cagmat is a chemist, moonlighting as a storyteller. During the day, he's toiling in a lab of a small start-up biotech company, trying to discover new drugs in the fight against traumatic brain injury (or TBI: that nasty concussions on the football field and on war zone blasts). When night time comes, he's in front of his computer, typing words and sentences, creating stories. He lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife Joy and 5-year old son Koji. His next novel will be Love After War.

Fragmented memories, flashbacks, emotional reactivity and somatic complaints are common features in the lives of trauma survivors. These symptoms often leave one feeling disconnected and alone. Sexual assault trauma leaves scars that frequently go unseen by the general public. The effects, however, are lasting for the survivor and frequently impact a person's ability to engage fully in life and to navigate intimate relationships with ease. Recovery from such experiences is challenging. I sought treatment for two decades before stumbling upon a treatment approach that worked - pelvic floor physiotherapy! In my experience it was through this unconventional treatment approach that I was able to completely resolve all the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms I had lived with for decades. This book is unique in that it details the ingredients that went into enabling my recovery. In my experience it was a combination of the physiotherapist's person-centred skills together with the muscle release approach we adopted that enabled success. Reconnected offers hope to survivors. It is written as a mix of a personal story, combined with the many therapeutic approaches I tried prior to discovering the physiotherapy approach that worked. The neuroscience explaining how and why trauma can be treated through the body already exists. This research has been incorporated in the book to explain the success of the approach described. This makes it appealing to academics, healthcare professionals and people with experiences similar to my own. To my knowledge very few people recover completely from the effects of complex trauma. It is exciting to find a treatment approach that not only works but is a first of its kind in treating trauma of this nature in this way.