This fall marks the tenth anniversary since President Gordon B. Hinckley introduced and read The Family: A Proclamation to the World in the General Relief Society Meeting on September 23, 1995. In an effort to help families and Latter-day Saints live and better understand the teachings of this historic document, Deseret Book is pleased to publish the new book Helping and Healing Our Families in conjunction with the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. Among the dozens of timely and invaluable chapters and essays, readers will enjoy the following: "The Covenant of Marriage" by Daniel K. Judd and Ann N. Madsen "Joys and Challenges of Marrying Later in Life" by Camille Fronk "Keeping Marriage Relationships Strong Through the Years" by Ed and Patricia P. Pinegar "Emotional and Psychologicial Infidelity" by James M. Harper "When Children Choose a Different Path" by Elaine Walton and Robert L. Millet "Mental Illness in the Family" by Elder Alexander B. Morrison

Every family is hurting, and the wounds that come from our relatives can be deeper than all others. Conflict within a family can range from daily frictions and annoyances to rage and hatred and eventually estrangement. We want things to be different but have no idea where to start. After 25 years of ministering to families, Rob Rienow believes reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel--reconciliation with God and one another. You will come away with specific steps you can take in your relationships with your family members to pursue peace and healing in your homes. Each chapter includes key biblical examples as well as present-day stories of families who have experienced God's help and healing--including the author's own miraculous healing of his relationship with his father. Our families can bring out the best, as well as the worst, in all of us. May this book guide you in making your home and family a blessing in a broken world.

At the center of people’s lives is the family, which can be and should be a haven from the harshness of the outside world. Unfortunately, the source of people’s greatest hope for happiness often turns out to be the source of their worst disappointments. Now, the family therapist, Salvador Minuchin unravels the knots of family dynamics against the background of his own odyssey from an extended Argentinian Jewish family to his innovative treatment of troubled families. Through the stories of families who have sought his help, the reader is taken inside the consulting room to see how families struggle with self-defeating patterns of behavior. Through his confrontational style of therapy, Dr Minuchin demonstrates the strict but unseen rules that trap family members in stifling roles, and illuminates methods for helping families untangle systems of disharmony. In Dr Minuchin’s therapy there are no villains and no victims, only people trying to deal with various problems at each stage of the family life cycle. Minuchin understands the family as a system of interconnected lives, not as a “dysfunctional” group. Each story of a therapeutic encounter brings a new understanding of familiar dilemmas and classic mistakes, and recounts Dr Minuchin’s creative solutions.

The family, the source of our greatest hope for happiness, sometimes turns out to be the source of our greatest disappointment. Now, in the culmination of his lifework, world-renowned family therapist Salvador Minuchin reveals how his own personal experiences shaped his understanding of the family and his ability to cut through the knots of family dynamics. The grandson of Russian Jewish Emigrants to Argentina, Minuchin grew up secure in a closely knit extended family within a larger society of outspoken anti-Semitism and dictatorial politics. The impact of his formative experiences - anti-Peronist revolutionary activities which landed him in jail, service in the Israeli army in 1947-48, work with displaced children of the Holocaust and with poor black and Puerto Rican delinquents - helped forge his development as theorist and famed clinician. Where others saw only chaos and confusion, Minuchin found structure: members of families shadow dancing within invisible boundaries and systems. As he tells the dramatic stories of families who have sought his help, Minuchin reveals the hidden rules that trap family members in stifling roles. His confrontational yet compassionate style of therapy unlock the self-defeating patterns which foster marital conflict, difficulties with children, problems adjusting to old age and retirement, and other crises at each stage of the family life cycle. Each therapeutic encounter is a compelling dialogue between Minuchin's wisdom and a family struggling with pain but resistant to change. His creative and daring solutions to familiar family crises offer insight into the workings of all families. In this book of inspiration and hope, Minuchin shows us the hiddenstrengths to be found in the heart of the family itself.

Stories and narratives aimed at helping families work through an array of subjects like health, illness, grief, adoption, sexual identity, and school. The Healing Heart provides powerful examples of the use of stories and storytelling in encouraging resiliency, empathy, respect, and healing. These engaging books contain stories, and narratives about the use of the stories in activities with different populations (children, teens, those with disabilities, seniors, inmates, etc.) or which address specific social or community problems (addictions, poverty, violence, racism, environmental degradation, homelessness, abuse). The books are a collective effort containing the expertise of more than 60 storytellers and health professionals who illustrate the power of story in moving others to commitment and action, in building self-esteem and mutual respect. The Healing Heart ~ Families focuses on families, dealing specifically with healing through story, health promotion, disease prevention, early childhood intervention, children with medical problems, adopting families, schools, sexual identities, grief, and spiritual healing. The Healing Heart ~ Communities focuses on community-building, with sections on youth, violence prevention, poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse and addiction, racism, elders, culture, environmental protection, homelessness, and community development. Praise for The Healing Heart ~ Families “Both children and adults, sick or well, need the embrace of soulful storytelling. They need to witness and be witnessed, for it is in this state that healing occurs . . . . If newscasters were to read aloud each night to their listeners for 1,001 nights one of the stories from this treasury, we would all be healed and lose our fear, recapturing real security in our homeland.” —N. Michael Murphy, MD, author of The Wisdom of Dying “An extraordinary work . . . . Hit the bulls eye by providing both process and practice. Thought provoking and insightful theory is intertwined with appropriate stories for direct application. It makes clear that story can be a powerful catalyst for change, giving eloquent voice to what many of us have known for some time but have been unable to express. What a gift for those who work with families!” —Elizabeth Ellis, co-author of Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking about Difficult Stories

Do you have a perfect family? No? Neither does anyone else. We all have problems within our families. It is difficult for groups of people with wildly different personalities, goals, and beliefs to always get along. Unfortunately, family issues can cause the deepest heartache. Facilitating good relationships with your family is essential to being happy. Getting along with your family may not always be easy. Your ego can clash with your family members' egos. Your lifestyle may go against what your family believes in. Years of bad communication and unresolved conflict may sour some of your family relationships. But this book is here to help. With tips for establishing good communication, avoiding unpleasant confrontation, being honest and open, and resolving conflict, this book is your ultimate guide to getting along with even your most troublesome family members. This book can also help you heal family wounds. Many families are unfortunately wrought with problems, from divorce to substance addiction. The actions of your family members may not be perfect, but you have the power to recover. When you let go of the past and embrace a fresh start with your family members, you can easily heal your internal wounds and solve many of the family dramas and conflicts that create problems in your everyday life. It may seem like you cannot change the actions and dysfunctions within your family. But it is amazing how your own personal attitude and actions can affect your relationships with your relatives. Use this book as a guide to make the changes necessary to get along with your family. Use this book to end family feuds.