By: Dr. Earl Henslin
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: January 2010
ISBN: 978-0785228752
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: January 21, 2010

All of a sudden people feel that all consuming rush of love for someone. Sometimes, like Annie and David, they have been long term friends, although distant ones. They both had been in relationships before and were, so they thought, only work acquaintances until one day Annie started to really take notice of David, rushed to the computer and blurted out her love for him in an email. As C. S. Lewis once noticed, “No one can mark the exact moment at which friendship becomes love.” In Dr. Earl Henslin’s new book, This Is Your Brain in Love, you just might get a peek and considerably more insight into what happens and the different ways in which our brains react when we are in love and the “type” of lovers we all are.

If you have been in the love sick blues state as if you have “cocaine-on-the-brain,” perhaps you can relate to couples like Annie and David. In fact, as the author states, “when two brains are hijacked by romantic attraction, they are really under the influence of chemicals as powerful as any street drug.” For the Christian, sexuality and spirituality commingle to enhance relationships, but what if two people’s brains are different? Problematic is the key word. There are different kinds of lovers and if you and your partner or spouse are different there are definite ways to enhance and improve your relationship if you know what you are dealing with. In this book you will learn about these lovers, the value of a SPECT scan, and how to address actual brain imbalances.

Which of these categories do you find yourself in the love department?

* The Scattered Lover

* The Overfocused Lover

* The Blue Mood Lover

* The Agitated Lover

* The Anxious Lover

Dr. Daniel Amen claims that “When your brain works right, you work right.” This book is an excellent place to look at our behaviors in terms of our actual brain makeup and chemistry. Each section gives vignettes in the lives of actual case studies in which relationships were compromised by a spouse’s different thought precesses due to problems in their brain makeup. In each section there are reproductions of SPECT scans to view. Because these are in b/w they were not as clear as they could have been. Before each chapter there is a test that, according to the author, results correlate very closely to SPECT scan results. Some of these are quite obvious. For example one statement about the Blue Mood Lover says that “blue moods takes its toll on both partners.” I liked this book and feel that many people could benefit from its advice, but the reader needs to keep in mind that Dr. Henslin is a counselor (Ph.D.) and not a physician. There is a lot of sage advice within these pages, but because there are suggestions for addition of supplements and medications, the reader should be under medical care before implementing them.

Quill Says: In love? Have problems? This book can show you ways to enhance and improve your relationship!