Individuals and Families in a

             order" or "I need someone to help me recover from my painful past"), science fiction ("I .
             often find myself attracted to individuals who have unusual and strange characteristics") .
             and theater stories ("I think my relationships are like plays" or "I often find myself .
             attracted to partners who play different roles") (Robert, 2000:1). .
             When you talk to two people who have just split up, their breakup stories often .
             sound like depictions of two completely different relationships. In a sense, they are. Each .
             partner has his or her own story to tell (Robert, 2000:1). Robert then goes on to saying .
             that the most important thing to a healthy, happy relationship is that both partners have .
             compatible stories and compatible expectations. .
             Robert found that stories tend to be compatible if they are complementary roles in .
             a single story, such as prince and princess, or if the stories are similar enough that they .
             can be merged into a new and unified story. For example, a fantasy story can merge with .
             a gardening story because one can nourish, or garden, a relationship while dreaming of .
             being rescued by a knight on a white steed (Robert, 2000:2). A fantasy and a business .
             story are unlikely to blend, however, because they represent such different ideals--fate-.
             bound princes and princesses don't work at romance! (Robert, 2000:2). .
             Treating problems in relationships by changing our behaviors and habits .
             ultimately won't work because Robert believes crisis comes from the story we're playing .
             out. Unless we change our stories, we're past decade with hundreds of couples in .
             Connecticut, as well as ongoing studies, has shown that people describe love in many .
             ways (Robert, 2000:2). This description reveals their love story. For example, someone .
             who strongly agrees with the statement "I believe close relationships are like good .
             partnerships" tells a business story; someone who says they end up with partners who .
             scare them--or that they like intimidating their partner--enacts a horror story (Robert, .