The Best Relationship Listens to Help You Navigate Dating, Marriage, and More

Shannon Boodram is a certified sex educator and intimacy expert. In The Game of Desire, Boodram shares her advice for successful dating in the modern world. Unsurprisingly, finding someone else to love you in a relationship starts with self-love. Boodram offers practical advice on how to accomplish just that, with case studies and facts about the psychology of sex and love, all delivered in a humorous and warm tone. The audiobook is narrated by Boodram, and as you listen, it feels like the author herself is sitting down next to you and doling out expert advice in a very personal way.

Conventional advice about dating leads to a lot of game-playing and superficial relationships based on pretense. In Deeper Dating, psychologist Ken Page offers up a new approach to dating that leads to long-lasting and meaningful relationships. This listen emphasizes that when you present the real you in your dating life, you will attract people who will love you for who you truly are. Deeper Dating includes practical advice, exercises, and inspiring stories to lead you on the path to being more self-assured and emotionally available in relationships. This audiobook, narrated by Allan Robertson, is only available from Audible.

In The Science of Happily Ever After, relationship psychologist Dr. Ty Tashiro gets to the bottom of what it takes to find true, enduring love. If you’re looking for more than just togetherness and instead seeking true happiness, then you’ll want to listen to this audiobook. Through research in the fields of demography, sociology, medical science, and psychology, and rooted in real-life situations, Tashiro provides helpful, actionable advice for how singles can find their happily-ever-after. In the audiobook, narrator Chris Chappell adds a bit of his joy and humor to the science, making this a particularly enjoyable listen.

If you’re looking for a relationship book grounded in faith, then pastor Michael Todd’s Relationship Goals is the listen for you. Of course, there are many religious and faith-based books about relationships out there, but Todd’s writing style is approachable without veering towards preachy. In this audiobook, Todd examines common pitfalls of relationships and offers up practical suggestions for how to get past them. Narrator Ameen Gaines narrates Relationship Goals in a friendly, conversational style that fits perfectly with Pastor Todd’s tone.

If you’re like me, then you’ve probably heard about the concept of the Five Love Languages before you even knew the idea came from a book. The Five Love Languages have become so much of a part of how people understand relationships and communication in the modern age. Whether you think you’ve already heard all there is to know about the concept or you’re just discovering The Five Love Languages this listen is for you. In this celebrated guide, Dr. Gary Chapman looks at how people express love languages in different ways—through touch, acts of giving, and more—and how couples can work towards understanding one another’s unique language of love. The Audie Award-winning audiobook is narrated by Chapman himself, and it comes with a helpful reference guide.

Getting the Love You Want is therapist-recommended, and when you start listening to this audiobook, you’ll see why. In this best seller, therapists and married couple Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt offer a guide to finding lasting companionship in your relationship. Among the things Getting the Love You Want can do for you, this listen will help you: learn how to truly listen to your partner, increase the joy and laughter in your relationship, see your partner not only as a romantic interest but as a close friend, and much more. Hendrix and Hunt narrate the audiobook together, and in doing so, the authors offer up an inside look into their own close and supportive relationship.

In Attached, psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller get into the science behind relationships. Specifically, the scientific reasons why some people have an easier time in relationships than others. Levine and Heller look at how adult attachment styles inform the way people act in relationships. For instance, anxious people often worry about their relationship and whether or not their partner really loves them. Avoidant people see relationships as a loss of independence, and so they often push their partner away. Meanwhile, secure people are comfortable in their relationships. This listen will help you examine your own attachment style and the style of your partner. From there, the audiobook will guide you towards building stronger, more fulfilling connections with others.

Dr. Sue Johnson is a leading innovator in couples therapy, and in the best-selling Hold Me Tight, Johnson uses the concepts of Emotionally Focused Therapy to help couples work on their communication and attachment in their relationship. Johnson believes that the best way to save a relationship or to make it even stronger is through establishing a safe emotional connection and preserving the attachment bond. And if you’re not sure what she means by that, don’t worry. Johnson makes these concepts easy to understand and follow through case studies, practical advice, easy-to-follow exercises, and much more. The audiobook is narrated by Helen Keeley, and her reading is compassionate and kind.

If you’ve ever told yourself that you’re not really the marrying kind, then you’ll probably appreciate author Elizabeth Gilbert’s skeptical approach to marriage in Committed. After a really bad divorce, Elizabeth Gilbert told herself that she would never, ever get married again. But life is full of surprises, and Gilbert found herself in circumstances where marriage was the only thing that made sense. Gilbert tackles her fears about marriage in this listen through research, interviews, and personal reflections on the subject. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a celebration of love that many people will be able to identify with and appreciate. Gilbert herself narrates her story with wit, humor, and warmth.

A lot of people think that contemporary marriages are in more trouble than marriages from previous time periods. On the contrary, in The All-or-Nothing Marriage, psychology professor E.J. Finkel argues that the best marriages today are better than any marriages from earlier eras. Today, marriage is less about practical concerns like food, shelter, or even basic companionship. Now, it’s more about self-discovery, emotional support, and personal growth. But how do you get your marriage to be one of these contemporary relationships? Using cutting-edge science and practical advice, Finkel offers paths to better communication, realistic expectations, and more. Whether you’re a newlywed or you’ve been married for years, Finkel’s advice will lead you towards a path of better understanding and greater joy in your marriage.

If you’ve ever been curious about exploring polyamory or an open relationship, The Ethical Slut is a great starting point. The authors narrate this modern classic centered on looking at romantic relationships beyond monogamy, navigating polyamory, and figuring out how to set up open lines of communication, talk about feelings, deal with conflict, and negotiate a relationship that everyone is happy with. (It even includes a section on how to raise a family!)

Author and illustrator Sophie Lucido Johnson first made waves with her candid, charming memoir of polyamory, Many Love, and her latest release builds on the steadily growing idea that committed, whole relationships need not fall within the traditional bounds of monogamy. This excellently researched, three-part series explores the widening spectrum of modern relationships—from nontraditional and chosen families to asexuality and polyamory—in a multi-voiced, audio-first format.

For as long as there has been marriage, there has been adultery. And yet for an experience so common, we haven’t really developed an effective way to deal with the emotions that arise from cheating in a relationship. In The State of Affairs, couples therapist Esther Perel (the renowned specialist behind Where Should We Begin?) argues that affairs have a lot to teach us about relationships, and they can actually guide us to a new relationship with our spouses. Whether you decide to remain together or part ways after infidelity, Perel believes there is a lot of opportunity to grow and learn from the experience. The author narrates this audiobook and does an excellent job of carrying the ideas it conveys through her voice.

Mira Kirshenbaum is a world-renowned therapist who has treated many people who have been affected by affairs. In When Good People Have Affairds, she offers a compassionate and understanding examination of what happens to a person when they find themselves caught between two loves. Through six easy-to-follow steps, Kirshenbaum leads listeners towards finding clarity and peace. This audiobook helps listeners identify the many different kinds of affairs and the reasons why the infidelity occurred in the first place. She even gets into how a person can decide whether to end their marriage or their affair. Callie Beaulieu narrates the audiobook clearly and with just the right amount of emotion.

In Transcending Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder, psychologist Dennis Ortman draws comparisons between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the feelings of emotional distress one feels after infidelity. In order to find a path to healing, Ortman takes a psychological approach mixed with a religious approach, primarily through the teachings of Christianity and Buddhism. Through case studies, guided meditations, and more, this audiobook guides listeners through the six stages of recovering from infidelity with empathy and encouragement.

In The Sexually Confident Wife, best-selling author, speaker, and podcast host Shannon Ethridge speaks directly to every woman who is yearning to enjoy great sex with her husband. Narrating her own audiobook with authority and compassion, the author helps women overcome inhibitions and guilt to find sexual fulfillment in marriage.

Narrated by the author, Come As You Are is a science-based look at female sexuality that takes into account how women’s brains and bodies work and answers why there will never be an equivalent of Viagra for women. Emily Nagoski is an upbeat and witty writer and narrator who truly loves science, and her perspectives on sexuality are essential for all men, women, and nonbinary individuals seeking to better understand their bodies and sex.