Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
Quotes from the Book
When a man can listen to a woman's feelings without getting angry and frustrated, he gives her a wonderful gift. He makes it safe for her to express herself. The more she is able to express herself, the more she feels heard and understood, and the more she is able to give a man the loving trust, acceptance, appreciation, admiration, approval, and encouragement that he needs.
Men are motivated when they feel needed while women are motivated when they feel cherished.
" when men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom
Because she is afraid of not being supported, she unknowingly pushes away the support she needs.
Love brings up our unresolved feelings . One day we are feeling loved , and the next day we are suddenly afraid to trust love . The painful memories of being rejected begin to surface when we are faced with trusting and accepting our partner's love .
we are unique individuals with unique experiences
If we are to feel the positive feelings of love, happiness, trust, and gratitude, we periodically also have to feel anger, sadness, fear, and sorrow.
If I seek to fulfill my own needs at the expense of my partner, we are sure to experience unhappiness, resentment, and conflict. The secret of forming a successful relationship is for both partners to win.
Not to be needed is a slow death for a man.
Get the love you deserve and gave your partner the love and support he deserves
Books can inspire you to love yourself more, but by listening to, writing out, or verbally expressing your feelings you are actually doing it.
When a woman's wave rises she feels she has an abundance of love to give, but when it falls she feels her inner emptiness and needs to be filled up with love.
Men need to remember that women talk about problems to get close and not necessarily to get solutions.
We mistakenly assume that if our partners love us they will react and behave in certain ways—the ways we react and behave when we love someone.
Mental chemistry creates interest, Emotional chemistry Generates Affection, Physical chemistry generates desire, and Spiritual chemistry creates love. A soulmate includes all four...and I will not settle for anything less!
When negative feelings are suppressed positive feelings become suppressed as well, and love dies.
Remember, if a man needs to pull away like a rubber band, when he returns he will be back with a lot more love. Then he can listen. This is the best time to initiate conversation.
Fortunately perfection is not a requirement for creating great relationships.
A woman should not be judged for needing this reassurance, just as a man should not be judged for needing to withdraw.
When she says “I feel like you are not even here,” he says “What do you mean I’m not here? Of course I am here. Don’t you see my body?
Just as a man is fulfilled through working out the intricate details of solving a problem, a woman is fulfilled through talking about the details of her problems.
Did you know?
- The book's central device imagines that men originate from Mars and women from Venus before both settle on Earth.
- It was among the best-selling works of nonfiction of the 1990s, spending well over 100 weeks on bestseller lists.
- Gray popularized the idea of men retreating into a "cave" during stress while women seek connection through conversation.
- The book introduced a "points system" describing how each sex is said to weigh romantic gestures differently.
- It has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.
- A one-man stage comedy adaptation began in Paris and toured widely across Europe and the United States.
About John Gray
More by John Gray
Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals
About the book
"Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" is a relationship guide by counselor John Gray, first published in 1992. Its organizing conceit is a planetary metaphor: it asks readers to imagine that men and women originally came from different planets, Mars and Venus, and only later settled on Earth together, forgetting their separate origins. From this premise Gray argues that most conflict between partners arises not from a lack of love but from fundamental differences in how each sex responds to stress and interprets caring behavior.
The book offers a series of memorable frameworks for navigating those differences. Gray describes men who, under stress, retreat into a mental "cave" and grow quiet, while women under stress tend to seek connection through conversation. He introduces a "points system" in which women are said to value many small, consistent gestures roughly equally while men weight larger gestures more heavily, and a "wave" metaphor for emotional cycles. Throughout, the stated aim is to help couples translate each other's needs rather than take differences personally.
On publication by HarperCollins the book became a cultural phenomenon, ranking among the best-selling nonfiction works of the 1990s and spending well over a hundred weeks on bestseller lists. It spawned an industry of seminars, audio and video programs, and a long-running one-man stage comedy. It has also drawn sustained criticism from scholars who argue that its sharp gender binary exaggerates psychological differences that research suggests are far smaller and more socially shaped than the book implies.
Book details
- First published
- 1992
- Length
- 286 pages
- Reading time
- 5 hours
- Author
- John Gray
- Genre
- Romance
- Goodreads rating
- 3.58 (202k ratings) →
Movie & TV adaptations
- IMDb
If you liked this, read…
- 1The 5 Love LanguagesAnother hugely popular framework-driven guide to how partners give and receive love differently.
- 2The Seven Principles for Making Marriage WorkA widely read, research-based guide to understanding and repairing communication between partners.
- 3You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in ConversationExplores male-female miscommunication, a core concern of Gray's book, from a linguistics perspective.
Keep reading
The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship
Reflections of a Man
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
Love Walked in
Dear Dolly
The Five Love Languages for Singles
Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart
The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships
Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic
Sex and the City
Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships
Before Us
The Rational Male
8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation
How to Fall Out of Love Madly
Isn't It Bromantic?
The Four Swans
The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities
The Moon and Sixpence
If the Buddha Dated: A Handbook for Finding Love on a Spiritual Path
Love Life: How to Raise Your Standards, Find Your Person, and Live Happily
The Secret Life of Prince Charming
The Second Sex
Far from the Madding Crowd
Conversations on Love
Shantaram
The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
How to Be an Adult in Relationships: The Five Keys to Mindful Loving
Eat, Pray, Love
The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire
How to Fall in Love
The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!: Thoughts on Life, Love, and Rebellion
The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity
Love the One You're With
The Art of Seduction
Communion: The Female Search for Love
That Kiss In The Rain
Fierce Love: Creating a Love that Lasts―One Conversation at a Time
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Woman in White
Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls: A Memoir of Women, Addiction, and Love
True Believer
The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed
Adultery
The Course of Love
Trust: Betrayed
An Ideal Husband
On Love
So Much More
More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory
Gone Girl
A Year By The Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman
Gift from the Sea
The Proposal
We Hope This Reaches You in Time
This Could Be Us

