In Naked Marriage: How to Have a Lifetime of Love, Sex, Joy, and Happiness, JoAnneh Nagler offers a few simple guidelines to preserve unity and intimacy in marriage. The keystone of marriage is, or can be, the Naked Date. Nagler proposes that couples choose and hour or two each week to get naked with each other. Be consistent, shut out any interruptions, and take time to connect. "We know that being close, touching, making love, having a good romp--and doing it regularly--is good for our marriage."
Nagler nails a fundamental, essential element to a healthy marriage: regular, focused time spent together. Despite the nakedness, sex is only one part of this time. As she says, "being 'naked' is about being transparent and honest and available to each other." This practice of openness and intimacy is crucial to an ongoing relationship.
As someone who has been married for a quarter of a century, I can affirm what she says. I welcome the challenge not to take a stable marriage for granted. In the time we have been married, there have been periods of regular alone time and periods in which those times are hard to come by. But it needs to be a priority.
While Nagler's words are encouraging, she does seem to take a long time to make her point and develop it. The basic ideas--get naked together, be affectionate to one another, communicate openly about money--can be grasped quickly and could be communicated more succinctly. But the book would be too short then. . . . Nevertheless, those basic ideas can be transformative in a marriage and, if her models are followed, can strengthen and sustain a marriage.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!
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