Leo Tolstoy is a famous Russian novelists whose work includes classics like "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". Before marrying his fiance Soyna, who was seventeen years his junior, he gave her his personal diary to read. Soyna was crushed by what she read, and based on what each wrote in their own diary they had a rather tumultuous marriage. Goleman tells their story to highlight the stress that can come from our closest relationships. By all appearances their marriage was less than harmonious. However the longevity of both their lives and their marriage seems to contradict Goleman's entire point about the negative health effects of stress. Goleman acknowledges this and points out that the thirteen children the couple had probably balanced out the emotional rockiness of their marriage.
