This article is a summary of Family Relations Special Issue : Enduring Couples. Most Americans (even the divorced) view long-term marriage as their ultimate goal; and, despite the odds, in 1998, 63% of young women and 57% of young men participating in the nationally representative sample for the Monitoring the Future Study believed that they were “very likely” to stay married to the same person for life (Thornton & YoungdeMarco, 2001). The papers address an array of today’s most challenging issues as they are realized and confronted in enduring unions-racial discrimination and stress (Murry et al.), interracial relationships (Bratter and King), domestic violence (Chung, Tucker, & Takeuchi), and religious beliefs (Brown, Orbuch, and Bauermeister). (Author abstract modified)