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When you recall the details of the beginning of your relationship, is it told with love or tinged with negativity? In her new book “For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage,” Tara Parker-Pope points to a study that shows why it’s important. An excerpt.

Chapter six

How did the two of you meet? Was it love at first sight? Did you date for a long time or was it a whirlwind romance?

Newlyweds and long-married couples often are asked to recount the details of their first date, their courtship, or even the wedding proposal. Perhaps you were high school sweethearts or maybe you met through an online dating service, at the grocery store, or through a blind date arranged by friends.

But what does a story of how you met years ago have to do with how you are getting along with your spouse today? Relationship researchers are keenly interested in hearing how couples met as a way to gauge the quality of their relationship now. But the actual details of the story are far less important than how the two of you tell it. Your personal romantic narrative, as told by you or your partner, is filled with clues about the state of your relationship today and can predict whether trouble looms ahead.

via How-we-met story may predict divorce – Relationships.