Why do we behave as we do - if it doesn't get us what we want? Can we balance our needs for closeness and for independence? Can we understand our emotional history - and go beyond it? How do we negotiate our needs with those of other people? Can we become the lover, partner or friend we long to be?Gay, straight, old, young; we want our relationships 'to work'. Through a variety of moving, personal stories, a rare breadth of well-founded ideas and her own inspiring belief in the rewards of love, Stephanie Dowrick shows how possible it is to experience the pleasures of self-acceptance - and the last joy of satisfying connections with others.