Intimacy on the Run

Staying Close When
So Much Keeps You Apart

By Jeanette and Robert Lauer

Dimensions, $10

ISBN 068701770X

Slowing Down for Intimacy

Review by Marty Sanchez

Try counting how often you hear the word time in daily conversations. "We don't have time for that," "Time is running out," "I've got to do that on time," and "What time is it?" The "hurry sickness" is rampant these days as Jeanette and Robert Lauer say in their new book, Intimacy on the Run. And the faster we run, the farther apart we are -- unless we're side-by-side and going together. The Lauers know how much effort that takes, and they offer couples help in managing the competing demands made on their time.

The authors, a minister and former professor, are marriage and family life experts, and they have written many periodical articles as well as several books on maintaining and enhancing marriage. They absolutely believe that a couple can find true intimacy despite the time crunch of our present-day lives. But the Lauers are not simply pouring salve on a sore spot; they tell couples right off the bat that first they must make the tough decision to give high priority to their marriage. Once that hurdle is jumped, the authors give lots of clear and friendly counsel.

In the final chapter of Intimacy on the Run, the Lauers offer a list of 101 short ways to develop and maintain intimacy. These are divided into eleven categories, and range from quick, anytime ideas ("Hold hands when you walk anywhere") to ideas for doing something special together ("Volunteer for a mission trip sponsored by your church or another group").

This unique guide for "staying close when so much keeps you apart" is both practical and spiritual, whether you're married only a year, have several young children, or you're adjusting to the empty nest.

Marty Sanchez is a freelance reviewer from Jacksonville, FL.