How do we cultivate the life-long relationships we are longing for, whether within marriage or friendship? In his book True Companions, psychologist Kelly Flanagan shows how each of us can enjoy the deeply satisfying, transformational love of companionship. He shows us how self-knowledge leads the way to growing in love for both God and others. He shows us how understanding our own loneliness can help us relieve the pressure on our companions. And he shows us how understanding our own psychological and emotional defenses can help us to make the choice to love more vulnerably. In this five-session companion study guide, groups, couples, and individuals will learn how to show up in our most important relationships. Anyone-from single young adults to elderly married couples, from the divorced to the widowed, from siblings to friends-can benefit from the wisdom it uncovers about what it means to be human and to be true companions.

When we quit sabotaging intimacy in our relationships by demanding unconditional love, we discover something much greater-the deeply satisfying, transformational love that is companionship. In these pages psychologist Kelly Flanagan shows how each of us has within ourselves, exactly the way we are, the gifts that are needed to cultivate the life-long relationships we are longing for, whether it is within marriage or friendship. He shows us how self-knowledge leads the way to growing in love for both God and others. He shows us how understanding our own loneliness can help us relieve the pressure on our companions. And he shows us how understanding our own psychological and emotional defenses can help us to make the choice to love more vulnerably. More than a marriage book, this is a companionship book. Anyone-from single young adults to elderly married couples, from the divorced to the widowed, from siblings to friends-can benefit from the wisdom it uncovers about what it means to be human and to be true companions. Groups, couples, and individuals can use the companion study guide for five sessions on how to show up in your most important relationships.

Elijah Campbell is on the verge of losing his writing career, his faith, and his marriage when a recurring childhood nightmare drives him back to his hometown, Bradford's Ferry. There, his encounters with loved ones both past and present shed light on the reason his wife left him-and the meaning of his nightmare. However, beyond the light he begins to glimpse something even more terrifying-a decision he must make either to continue hiding the secrets of his past or unhide the only thing that can save his marriage: himself. In psychologist Kelly Flanagan's non-fiction works (Loveable, True Companions), he drew from clinical insight to explore the spiritual depths of identity and relationships. Now, in this debut novel, he weaves a page-turning and plot-twisting tale that brings new life to those insights, along with fresh revelations about personal growth, spiritual transformation, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. This visit to Bradford's Ferry will linger long after the final page has been turned, and a guide for group discussion invites further conversation about the story's themes of healing, grace, faith, forgiveness, and freedom.

Kelly Flanagan is a psychologist, father, and blogger who is best known for the letters he has written to his children on his blog, one of which landed him on The Today Show with his four-year-old daughter. In Loveable, Flanagan answers three fundamental human questions: Am I enough? How do I become unlonely? Do I matter? He shows us how to rediscover our worthiness and remember that we are good enough. He encourages us to shed the false self that keeps us lonely and to find people who accept us as we are. And he inspires us to fully embrace our passions, regardless of how ordinary those passions may be. Reading like an extended love letter to readers, Loveable uncovers three essential truths: you are enough, you are not alone, and you matter. Flanagan invites us to disconnect from the distractions and demands of daily life and to listen more intently for the voice of grace within each of us, so we might fully awaken to the redemptive story we are here to live.

Selected poems written from my soul, in which I am far too picky to allow the human eye to skim through.