Family Development

Labeled a silent epidemic by a growing number of therapists and researchers, estrangement is one of the most disorienting and painful experiences of a parent's life. Popular opinion typically tells a one-sided story of parents who got what they deserved or overly entitled adult children who wrongly blame their parents. However, the reasons for estrangement are far more complex and varied.

The secret behind France's astonishingly well-behaved children is here. When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn't aspire to become a "French parent". French parenting isn't a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren't doing anything special. But French children are far better behaved and more in command of themselves than American kids....

The trial of Dominique Pelicot has captured the world's attention. Behind Pelicot's unthinkable crimes are a mother, Gisèle Pelicot, and her daughter, Caroline Darian, who were forced to rebuild their lives. This is their story.

In 1994, Reviving Ophelia was published, and it shone a much-needed spotlight on the problems faced by adolescent girls. The approach Pipher and Gilliam take in this new edition is just what it was in the original: a timely, listenable combination of insightful research and real-world examples that illuminate the challenges young women face and the ways to address them. This updated Reviving Ophelia looks at 21st century adolescent girls through fresh eyes, with insights and ideas that will help new generations of listeners.

What if God designed marriage to make you holy instead of happy? What if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God? In Sacred Marriage, best-selling author Gary Thomas uncovers the ways that your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and with each other. Join over one million others who have already uncovered Thomas's tips for fostering a sacred marriage. In Sacred Marriage, Thomas invites you to see how God can use your relationship with your spouse as a discipline and a motivation to love God more.

This reassuring month-by-month overview gives you the facts and advice you need to understand your baby’s development, support your partner, and prepare for the joys and challenges of fatherhood. It concludes with two special sections: one on labor and delivery, and the other covering the first few months after your baby’s arrival.

Gary John Bishop has helped millions of people break free of self-sabotaging behaviors. Yet we all seem to feel like we’re failing at this thing called parenting. Common wisdom isn’t working—our kids are struggling. Gary argues we don’t need more tips, tricks, and techniques, we need an overhaul of who we are. We’re never going to measure up to the “perfect parent” model we’ve built up in our heads—a Frankenstein version of mom and dad cobbled together from our childhoods, our parents, cultural ideals, social media, and everything in between.

Between the ages of twelve and twenty-four, the brain changes in important and, at times, challenging ways. In Brainstorm, the renowned psychiatrist and bestselling author of Parenting from the Inside Out, The Whole-Brain Child, and Mindsight, Daniel Siegel busts a number of commonly held myths about adolescence — for example, that it is merely a stage of “immaturity” filled with often “crazy” behavior — to reveal how it is in fact a vital time in our lives in terms of charting the course for the adults we ultimately become.

Warm and fuzzy, anchored in values, and filled with simple words of wisdom, this beloved, best-selling book for parents speaks to the important business of raising sons, and distills their timeless lessons into nuggets of wisdom - some lighthearted, some serious, some practical, and some intangible, and all supported by a strong moral backbone.

Michele Borba has been a teacher, educational consultant, and parent for 40 years - and she's never been more worried than she is about this current generation of kids. The high-achieving students she talks with every day are more accomplished, better educated, and more privileged than ever before. They're also more stressed, unhappier, and struggling with anxiety, depression, and burnout at younger and younger ages - "we're like pretty packages with nothing inside," said one young teen.

In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels. The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes.

Drawing upon her 40-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation's leading midwife, shows the benefits and joys of physiological childbirth by showing women how to trust the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention-as well as how to know when such intervention is necessary.

Have the first weeks of fatherhood been filled with both heartfelt and utterly awful moments? Are you terrified that you’re failing at fatherhood because you don’t think you know how to do anything right? Has your routine changed so much since the baby came, and you’re wondering whether life will ever go back to default settings? Every dad feels like this at some point in their child’s first year, but there are tricks to ensure the brilliant moments outweigh the madness.

From renowned parent expert Caroline Maguire, Why Will No One Play with Me? is a groundbreaking program that has helped thousands of children struggling with social skills to make friends, find acceptance, and have a happy childhood. Every parent wants their child to be okay - to have friends, to be successful, to feel comfortable in his or her own skin. But many children lack important social and executive functioning skills that allow them to navigate through the world with ease.

In teenagers, powerful emotions come with the territory. And with so many of today’s teens contending with academic pressure, social media stress, worries about the future, and concerns about their own mental health, it’s easy for them—and their parents—to feel anxious and overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With clear, research-informed explanations alongside illuminating, real-life examples, The Emotional Lives of Teenagers gives parents the information they need to steady their teens through the bumpy yet transformational journey into adulthood.

Often it seems like everything is against you as a parent, and your everyday life can feel far from joy-filled. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Parents Rising will show you eight cultural trends that parents are up against today and what you can do to claim victory. This audiobook is about growth, not guilt. It’s not a pep talk or a “try harder” speech. This is real help for real problems that every parent faces. It’s a way to focus your efforts, so that they’ll be more effective and you’ll be less exhausted.

You found the love of your life, and you vowed to have, to hold, and to stepmother. You always thought that in time you'd grow to be the perfect, loving family. So why does it seem that the harder you try, the more unappreciated you feel? As a stepmother, therapist, and founder of the popular stepsforstepmothers.com, Dr. Rachelle Katz knows all too well how challenging stepmotherhood can be. Based on thousands of in-depth interviews and the latest research, she's created a powerful program to help you.

The first book specifically for daughters suffering from the emotional abuse of selfish, self-involved mothers, Will I Ever Be Good Enough? provides the expert assistance you need in order to overcome this debilitating history and reclaim your life for yourself.

An insatiable need for sex and love. Periods of overeating or starving. A pattern of unstable and painful relationships. Does this sound painfully familiar? Trauma counselor Kelly McDaniel has seen these traits over and over in clients who feel trapped in cycles of harmful behaviors - and are unable to stop. Many of us find ourselves stuck in unhealthy habits simply because we don't see a better way. With Mother Hunger, McDaniel helps women break the cycle of destructive behavior by taking a fresh look at childhood trauma and its lasting impact.

Shadow Daughter tackles a subject we rarely discuss as a culture: Family estrangements, especially those between parents and adult children. Estrangements - between parents and children, siblings, multiple generations - are surprisingly common, and even families that aren't officially estranged often have some experience of deep conflicts. Estrangement is an issue that touches most people, one way or another, one that's still shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and shame.