Crystal Wilhite Hemesath is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 20 years of clinical experience, having received her PhD from Iowa State University in 2016. She owns a mental health private practice where she is a practicing clinician. Dr. Hemesath is also clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.
Romantic love is an integral part of Western culture, yet researchers have been reluctant to take it on. In this age of serial monogamy, Dr. Hemesath's book is long overdue. She examines the process of relationship dissolution weaving together theories, empirical research, and personal stories of the angst of breaking-up. This engaging and beautifully written book is a welcome addition to the field of family studies that will be of interest to anyone wishing to understand why love sometimes fades. Dr. Susan D. Stewart, Professor of Sociology, Iowa State University To love and be loved are among the most significant and fundamental human life experiences. Finding love can bring us immense joy; losing it can plunge us into the depths of despair. Here, in this well-written text, author Crystal Wilhite Hemesath has given us a book that invites, engages, and instructs both the next generation of scholars and those of us (all of us!) who have ever wondered about, sought, found, and lost love. Dr. Pamela Regan, author of The Mating Game and Close Relationships This is the definitive book on one of the most common and scary experiences in romantic relationships. The author comes across as a warm and approachable scholar and therapist, and the book has much to offer anyone interested in the phenomenon of falling out of love. William J. Doherty, PhD, Professor and Director of the Minnesota Couples on the Brink Project at the University of Minnesota, and author of Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World That Pulls Us Apart