Saber and the eagle

50 "patient" couples, from 17 nationalities, with an average husband's age of 42, an average marital relationship of 10 years, and a total of 500 years of marriage, resulting in nearly 100 "catastrophic" situations, which I chose for you to experience. These figures were the result of a survey that took three years, or a little more. During this time, I asked every married man I met, somewhere in this vast world, about the most difficult situations they faced during their married life. I simply asked, and then left the task to the patient husband; so that he, in turn, would tell me about his hatred and flight in the midst of the struggle of married life. I am merely conveying and recounting stories to you, and as the saying goes: Do not kill the messengers! From the far east to the far west, from the north to the south, I present all these patient, steadfast couples, who are in full possession of their mental faculties—or at least what remains of them—and who, of their own free will—or part of it—have come forward to tell me about the ordeal they have been tested with, hoping to persevere. On this exploratory journey into the lives of these couples, I was amazed by the extent of the similarity of their experiences, despite all the cultural differences between them. For the sake of simplicity, I have named each couple who decided to share their experience with me and you “Patient.” You are not alone!