Posted in Books on Dec 13th, 2007
The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by the Arbinger Institute
Every so often I pick up a book and it transforms my life. What was it Kafka said about books? “A book must be an ice-axe to break the sea frozen inside us.” This book did that for me.
If I could only recommend [...]
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Posted in Books on Dec 13th, 2007
As we mentioned in our DivorcingDaze interview, Kathy and I didn’t always get along. We had a period of time — about a year — where we basically didn’t talk to each other. From my perspective, I was shocked and surprised at the degree to which our houses and lives were intertwined. It was beyond [...]
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Posted in Books on Dec 3rd, 2007
We both love T.S. Eliot, and we both just so happen to have the exact same copy of his collected works.
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Posted in Books on Nov 30th, 2007
I’m Not Julia Roberts by Laura Ruby
This book made me so sad. I wanted it to make me laugh, but when I finished it, I ended up clinging to G asking him to reassure me that I had a soul (to the extent possible for an atheist). I felt cold, and in shock, and [...]
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Posted in Books on Nov 30th, 2007
Karon Goodman writes from her life experience about how to live the stepfamily life with grace. She sent me a review copy of her new ebook, Seven Decisions You Can Make Today To Improve Your Steplife, and my absolute favorite of the seven decisions was to “decide to live well with imperfection.” That advice speaks [...]
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Posted in Books, Discipline, Parenting on Nov 20th, 2007
Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas Gordon
(This post builds on Kathy’s original Discipline post from last weekend.)
I read stacks of books about stepfamily dynamics when my relationship with G looked like it was going to be serious, and pretty much every book I read said to take things slowly and to follow the biological parents’ lead [...]
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Posted in Books on Nov 20th, 2007
Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser, Literary Mama: Not the Brady Bunch: A Review of My Father Married Your Mother: Writers Talk about Stepparents, Stepchildren and Everyone in Between
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Posted in Books on Oct 31st, 2007
My Father Married Your Mother: Writers Talk about Stepparents, Stepchildren and Everyone edited by Anne Burt
I wanted to cheer when I read Barbara Kingsolver’s essay “Stone Soup”. She says that families who unite in loving and supporting kids raise happy, healthy kids, and that includes big extended family groups with exes and new partners. She [...]
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