As an introductory marriage manual for children, this might make it; but only the most simplistic adults will buy the...
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MARRIAGE WITHOUT B.S.
by ‧RELEASE DATE: June 26, 1979
As an introductory marriage manual for children, this might make it; but only the most simplistic adults will buy the bucolic analogies: ""As Mr. Greenthumb nurtures his garden with moisture and plant food, the wise couple nurture their marriage with considerate concern for each other's needs. . . ."" The perspective of Midwestern psychiatrist Baldwin, divorced and ""happily remarried"" himself, is not without a kind of folksy, middle-of-the-road appeal; he is equally contemptuous of both the ""old B. S.--Marriage is holy matrimony"" and the ""new improved B. S.--It's only a piece of paper."" But with exhortations to mold the ""feeling tone"" in the relationship (""If you keep your marriage meter at 80 percent positive. . . you are in business"") and, in assessing a prospective partner, to avoid ""Boozy Beverly"" and ""Womanizing William""; (latch onto ""Independent Ida"" and ""Bucky the Backward Bender"")--well, even a Mr. Greenthumb would find tilling these earthy platitudes rather tough going.