I have 17 children and a new one is on the way. Well, not exactly. Let me explain. When my first wife and I were in college we decided that when we got married we would have one child and then adopt a child. Even back in 1964 we knew the world was getting crowded and we wanted to do our part by fulfilling our dream to have our own biological child, but to take a child to love that needed a home. Ten years later the marriage was on the rocks and I became a single parent. When I met and married Carlin, she had three children. We ended up raising her son and my daughter together, but together we count five children. So where did the other twelve come from?
They are my literary children. As a writer I dream about the next conception. The gestation period can be many years and the birth is just the first in a series of steps as the child makes its way in the world. My first literary child was born on June 22, 1983. His name is Inside Out: Becoming My Own Man (I know, not your typical child’s name) and he turned thirty-three a few days ago.
Each of these literary children has multiple God-parents. These are people who feel a great love for this child, give guidance, and help them find their place in the world. Here’s what a few of the Inside Out God-parents had to say:
“We know the personal is political—feminists have proved that point—yet few, (if any) men have had the courage to be as vulnerable as Jed Diamond.” Natalie Rogers, author of Emerging Woman.
“Through his own vividly revealed experiences Jed shows us just where the sexual revolution took a wrong turn toward the unexamined doctrine of obligatory ‘openness.’” George Leonard, author of The End of Sex: Erotic Love After the Sexual Revolution.
Other literary children followed including Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Overcoming Romantic and Sexual Addictions, The Warrior’s Journey Home: Healing Men, Healing the Planet, Male Menopause, Surviving Male Menopause: A Guide for Women and Men, The Whole Man Program: Reinvigorating Your Body, Mind, and Spirit After 40, The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding and Managing the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression, Mr. Mean: Saving Your Relationship from the Irritable Male Syndrome, Male Vs. Female Depression: Why Men Act Out and Women Act In, MenAlive: Stop Killer Stress with Simple Energy Healing Tools, Composting Abbie: A Whale of a Story, and Stress Relief for Men: How to Use the Revolutionary Tools of Energy Healing to Live Well.
For those who know me, they will tell you that each of these children is an expression of personal issues I’ve been dealing with at the time, from sex and romance addiction to anger, rage, and manic-depression. This is true of my soon to be born literary child, The Enlightened Marriage: The 5 Transformative Stages of Relationships and Why the Best is Still to Come.
The first public offering of this material was May 14, 2016 when I taught the Enlightened Marriage Master’s Class. We are editing the program and it will be offered on-line once the book is out in the world. Here’s where you come in. There are literally hundreds of thousands of relationship books out in the world. I think The Enlightened Marriage is uniquely helpful, but I need your help in spreading the world.
Books, like children, need nurturing, love, and support. Otherwise they don’t do well in the world. Let me tell you about that this literary child was conceived in pain and love. The pain came from two previous marriages that had failed. I did what I knew to do to have a joyful marriage with real, lasting love. But, like many, I had a faulty love map and I went through two painful divorces. Before trying again I vowed to find a true love map to guide my way. I felt I was successful when I met my wife, Carlin. We continue to learn together and have now been married for 36 wonderful years.
I want to share what we have learned with others who are in good relationships, but they want them to be great, or are in relationships that are under great stress, or are single, but still looking for real, lasting love. A number of my colleagues have stepped forward to be God-parents of this child. Here are what a few have shared:
“There are some skills you must have, some ways you must be, and some things you must learn or unlearn if you want to have a healthy, fulfilling and loving relationship. Jed Diamond’s work in The Enlightened Marriage covers all of the ‘musts’ and then some. What a blessing!”–Iyanla Vanzant, author of Trust: Mastering The Four Essentials. Host of Iyanla Fix My Life on OWN.
“I’ve known and appreciated Jed’s work for more than forty years. The Enlightened Marriage will be of great help for couples as well as singles who are looking for their soul-mate. It gives you the tools you need to succeed in love. It will be particularly helpful for people over forty, but everyone will learn things they didn’t know about men, women, sex, and love. I highly recommend this book.”—John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
I’d like to have ten more God-parents who can help introduce The Enlightened Marriage to the world and can help share with friends and supporters through social media. You don’t have to be as well-known as Iyanla or John Gray. You just have to be passionate about my work and this God-child.
If you’re interested, please send me an e-mail (be sure and respond to my spamarrest filter if you’re writing me for the first time) with “God-parent” in the subject line. Tell me how much you already know about my work, your interest in being an Enlightened Marriage God-parent, the extent of your social media presence, if you have your own mailing list, and any ideas you have for spreading the word.
I’ll pick the ten that seem the most engaged and supportive. To say “thank you” and to introduce you to your new God-child, I’ll send you an advance e-copy of the book, so you can get to know all the details which you’ll read about in the following chapters:
- Chapter 1 The Five Stages of Marriage and Why Too Many Stop at Stage 3
- Chapter 2 The Power of Two: Make a Commitment to Love
- Chapter 3 Healing Childhood Trauma Can Save Your Marriage
- Chapter 4 Incompatibility: Grounds for a Real Marriage, Not a Divorce
- Chapter 5 Why Sex Matters: Men and Women Coming Together
- Chapter 6 Male and Female Communication With and Without Words: Bridging the Great Divide
- Chapter 7 Midlife Depression: Why Men Act Out and Women Act In
- Chapter 8 Navigating the Change of Life: New Understanding for Men and Women
- Chapter 9 Life Stresses: Families, Money, a Collapsing Economy, and Our Collective Future
- Chapter 10 In Sickness and in Health: Caregiving and Receiving
- Chapter 11 Your Enlightened Future: Single Now, but Looking for Real, Lasting Love
- Chapter 12 You Two Can Change the World: If Not You, Who? If Not Now, When?
If you’re interested in being a God-parent, please e-mail me right away. Remember to respond to my spamarrest filter if requested and put “God-parent” in the subject line. Whether you want to be an official God-parent or not, I look forward to sharing my literary child with you and the world.
