Women whose husbands have low sexual drives shouldn’t automatically assume that their mates are angry with them or find them unattractive, says Davis (The Sex-Starved Marriage
). Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, a dysfunctional thyroid and chronic kidney disease as well as erectile dysfunction all take a toll on sexual desire, and Davis advises wives to get their husbands to the doctor pronto. Nonphysical ills, such as stress, job loss, grief and midlife crisis, can also quash libido, and sex or marital therapy or individual talk therapy are recommended. Wives should be loving, patient and encouraging, make their requests action-oriented and engage in activities in which they can find solace and strength like volunteer work, reading, exercise or support groups. Davis’s stance is controversially anti-divorce, discouraging it even when the husband refuses to end an affair or is gay; she shamelessly hawks her own divorce-busting center and coaching services and annoyingly congratulates readers for working to turn their marriages around. Her advice is basically familiar and obvious, treading the same territory as her earlier The Sex-Starved Marriage
and other self-help manuals, but some desperately unhappy women might find validation in these pages. (Jan.)
