Couples having problems are often advised to be more supportive of each other, but a series of University of Iowa studies shows that too much support — or the wrong kind of support — may actually do more harm than good.
In recent studies of heterosexual couples in their first few years of marriage, researchers learned that too much support is harder on a marriage than not enough. When it comes to marital satisfaction, both partners are happier if husbands receive the right type of support, and if wives ask for support when they need it. [continue reading…]
Meghan O’Rourke explores the culture and science of grief. Here she talks with Blake Eskin about her own mother’s death and the loss of mourning rituals in American culture. Link to download podcast and read more
J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. (via http://harvardmagazine.com)