"A highly readable, well written book that contains deep wisdom and practical guidance about relationships that will be useful to everyone seeking genuine and durable intimacy, especially couples. I especially appreciate his thesis that love is a commitment to helping the other become the best person he can be. I highly recommend it."

- --Harville Hendrix, Ph. D., author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples

"Matthew Kelly reminds us that love and intimacy aren’t just cozy feelings that drop into our laps. They’re the result of hard work and giving of ourselves—and lead to the ultimate joys of life. A wonderful book about an important subject readable, and full of wise and practical suggestions."

- -- Hal Urban, author of Life’s Greatest Lessons and Positive Words, Powerful Results

We all crave an authentic experience of intimacy.

We all yearn for intimacy, but we avoid it. We want it badly, but we often run from it. At some deep level we sense that we have a profound need for intimacy, but we are afraid to go there. Why?

We avoid intimacy because having intimacy means exposing our secrets. Being intimate means sharing the secrets of our hearts, minds and souls with another fragile and imperfect human being. Intimacy requires that we allow another person to discover what moves us, what inspires us, what drives us, what eats at us, what we are running toward, what we are running from, what self-destructive enemies lie within us, and what wild and wonderful dreams we hold in our hearts.

In The Seven Levels of Intimacy, Matthew Kelly teaches us in practical and unforgettable ways how to know these things about ourselves and how to share ourselves more deeply with the people we love. He both acknowledges and calms our fears, while showing us how to move beyond them to experience the true power of intimacy.

We continue to subscribe to the myth that pleasure, possessions, and achievement will fulfill us. Yet after each encounter we are left with the same dissatisfied aftertaste. Why? You simply can never get enough of what you don’t really need. We don’t need more money, faster cars, bigger houses or grander promotions. The human person needs one thing above all else: intimacy.

Carefree timelessness and intimacy are best friends. Our relationships cannot thrive under pressures of our noisy, busy, fast, modern lifestyles, but every relationship blossoms when it is nourished with a little carefree timelessness.

Life is about love. It is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about how you love yourself and how you hurt yourself. It's about how you love and hurt those close to you. It is about how you love or hurt the strangers that pass through your life. Life is about love.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part Two
How The Seven Levels Of Intimacy Will Change Your Relationships And Your Life!
Clichés: The First Level Of Intimacy
Facts: The Second Level Of Intimacy
Opinions: The Third Level Of Intimacy
Hopes And Dreams: The Fourth Level Of Intimacy
Feelings: The Fifth Level Of Intimacy
Faults, Fears, And Failures: The Sixth Level Of Intimacy
Legitimate Needs: The Seventh Level Of Intimacy

Part Three
The Reasons People Don’t Have Great Relationships
Designing A Great Relationship
Don’t Just Hope

Excerpts from the new edition

The Sex Myth (p.7-9)

What is Destroying Modern Relationships? (p.96-100)

What's Not Working In Your Life? (p. 72-75)

Intimacy Is A Legitimate Need (p.111-113)