This "choices" theme based marriage and family book supports the goals of most professors by applying research and theory to readers' lives, and by encouraging lively classroom discussion. How? Through its interactive pedagogy (e.g. self assessments), currency of data, engaging writing style, and focus on social policy issues within the context of each chapter. The authors show users how positive outcomes in personal relationships depend on making intelligent choices. They accomplish this by encouraging readers to explore the tradeoffs that choices involve, how to view situations in a positive light, and how not making a choice is really a choice. Thus, readers learn to approach every intimate relationship with the new freedom and new responsibility that choices involve.