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Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

by John Gray

"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… more

First published 1992 · 286 pages · English

21 quotes ★ 3.58 (201,769) Romance

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

John Gray (born 1951) is an American relationship counselor and author best known for his 1992 bestseller Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, which has sold more than 15 million copies and made him a leading figure in the self-help genre.

More about the author →

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
    Men Are from Mars - Women Are from Venus LIVE! 2013

    One-man stage comedy adapted by playwright Eric Coble; opened in the U.S. in 2013 after debuting in Europe.

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    The 5 Love LanguagesAnother hugely popular framework-driven guide to how partners give and receive love differently.
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    The Seven Principles for Making Marriage WorkA widely read, research-based guide to understanding and repairing communication between partners.
  3. 3
    You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in ConversationExplores male-female miscommunication, a core concern of Gray's book, from a linguistics perspective.

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