What if you loved someone, and did things to express your love for them, but they were looking for signs of your love in ways different than those you were offering? You miss each other, and the other person does not feel your loved. Every day there are loved people who don’t feel loved because the expressions of love they’re getting aren’t the expressions of love they’re looking for. This is because we all speak different love language. Love means different things to different people; each person experiences love, or prefers to be loved, in different ways. What complicates matters is that we tend to express love in the ways we like to receive love, which may not be the ways other people best receive love. And everybody enjoys receiving love. This is the problem The Five Love Languages seeks to solve. The most common love languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

Dr. Chapman describes each of the languages, as well as a number of “dialects,” giving examples on both how to identify and satiate each of the preferred love languages. I enjoyed this read because it is not only theoretical, but practical as well. The book is sort and simple, keeping to the point, and making for an enjoyable read. This is an approach to love that I have never seen addressed anywhere else, but seems to be an integral part of effective loving. Dr. Chapman presents a strong case for learning the love languages of those you love, and definitely contributes being a better lover.