Isn’t it nice to look back and reminisce the time we walked down the aisle? Just imagine how we, the happy bride, felt so beautiful that day, our skin glowing and our eyes sparkling with love as we looked ahead towards that man we will be spending the rest of our lives with, while our soon-to-be husband, looking dashingly handsome in his suit, lovingly watched as we walked. After that, of course there’s the honeymoon, that moment we always wished would never end.  Then gradually the realities of married life start to set in - moving into our first home… bills and financial concerns… couple conflicts and petty arguments… in-law issues… children one after the other…balancing work and family life… and the list goes on.  

Years pass and suddenly we find ourselves face to face with that person we vowed to have and to hold until death do us part, and think, “Is this the same man or woman I married?”  

A friend gave me this book, Hot Chocolate for Couples (Practical Ways to Sweeten your Love Life). It’s interesting how the author, Cindy Sigler Dagnan, used “hot chocolate” as a title and metaphor in this book. “Chocolate as a dessert represents a sweet benediction to the substance that makes up the marriage meal” states the author in her introduction (page 11).  

A lot of people love chocolates. I, for one, can’t live without chocolates. According to a 2010 study in "Archives of Internal Medicine”, Resveratrol, an antioxidant found in dark chocolate, increases brain levels of endorphins and serotonin. Endorphins are natural mood-boosters that diminish the perception of pain. Serotonin works to improve mood and give you that "satisfied" feeling.

Understanding this fact on how chocolates improve moods somehow already gives us a foretaste of what to expect from this book. It aims to give married couples reasons to always crave for that “chocolate element” in their relationship.