ABSTRACT
A s a considerable body of evidence indicates, romantic and other forms of relationships (e.g., family ties and friendships) generally enhance our lives (Perlman, 2007). Yet to get these benefits, we have to initiate relationships. This book is about relationships’ beginning. My task is to bring the book to an end. I will do so by taking the chapters in the volume as a foundation for a commentary. My overall goal is to offer my perspective on what the contributors to the volume have accomplished. In part I will be commenting on the chapters in the book, and in part I will be commenting on relationship initiation as an area of research. I will highlight recurrent themes in the volume itself; describe where current relationship initiation research fits in the broader panorama of relationship scholarship; discuss how recent endeavors advance knowledge; and note a few things the prior chapters do not. My reflections are organized into the following major parts: describing the phenomenon of relationship initiation, placing research on relationship initiation into a historical context, summarizing key knowledge gained, and considering the future directions of work on relationship initiation.
