The Recipe
Love Made Simple
The Recipe is an intensive look at how one can find love—in themselves and in a lover—and keep it strong.
The Recipe: Love Made Simple, by Dr. Rick Blum, is the complete guide to love. While the title sounds suspiciously straightforward, The Recipe is a thorough, comprehensive look at why people need love, why it’s so difficult to find, and how to keep it. The book provides helpful tips on how to invite love into your life by working on the inner self, first and foremost. Only then does it delve into exactly how to be receptive to the love you may find.
The book is divided into five parts, beginning with “Essential Ingredients,” going through “Preparation,” “Dangers: The Safe and Successful Chef,” and, after several more chapters, concluding with “Special Benefits.” The Recipe uses an extended metaphor of cooking, with love as the thoughtfully prepared meal and the chef as the reader who has come to find, and keep, the ever-elusive love. In each chapter, several questions are asked, much like one might find in a self-help book. Many tips are given as “spices” to add to the dish of love. Guidelines, like “Compatibility-Plus Guidelines,” which help one decide if they are compatible with a loved one, are sprinkled throughout.
Each step of love—from how to find a significant other, to maintaining good communication, to dealing with arguments and communication breakdowns—is covered in The Recipe. For those ready to leave a relationship, the book asks several detailed questions to ensure that the right choice is being made. With humor and honesty, the book tackles difficult subjects without ever blaming either party for a bad relationship. Most, if not all, pages include a personal anecdote by Blum, which makes this a readable and accepting book for all.
The Recipe is well researched and well written; every page is rife with helpful guidance, criteria, self-tests, and inspiration to navigate the problems of finding and maintaining a loving relationship. The author’s experience as a licensed psychologist and counselor is evident, and the book feels personal because of the smattering of encouraging phrases that are tucked into each chapter. “No charity dating!” and “Diving for the right pearl” are reminders that taking the proper amount of time to find the right person is worth the wait. Half a dozen of these wisdoms are provided in each chapter.
The Recipe is an intensive look at how one can find love—in themselves and in a lover—and keep it strong. The book includes enough in-depth information and guidance to make it feel as though one has paid for counseling, while bold phrases, self-tests, and personal stories help anyone, regardless of circumstance, navigate the joys and problems of love.
Reviewed by
Jade Belzberg
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
