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kisullivan's review against another edition
1.0
Interesting start, let down by some very dated views in the latter part of the book which then made me think how still relevant is the section at the start? or has it been superseded by new research and theories? The views on the cause of autism were particularly uncomfortable reading.
withmanyroots's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent on the whole- enlightening & with diagrams! ...except the last few chapters on sexuality which I disagree with.
dreambigbooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
This was such an interesting read. And also a mandatory one, if you want to learn more about family dynamics this has some good ideas there are some outdated ones as well but mostly it is really fast paced told in a dialogue and is more question and answer. I'd say if you are starting a family this would be something to look at.
jobreeze's review
3.0
Oof. I think this may be a brilliant example of remembering what's valuable and forgetting the rest. I remember reading this book years ago and finding the discussions of how and why we replicate family relationships and how we are drawn to people hiding the same problems as ourselves fascinating. And so they are still. But I'd completely forgotten the outdated ideas about the causes of depression, autism or schizophrenia; the positivity around fairly strict 'innate' gender roles and the snark about feminists; the distinctly old-fashioned ideas around homosexuality and transexuality; the approval of strict parenting attitudes, and much more. There are some great ideas in here still, and the dialogue format is very engaging and easy to read, but reading it from thirty-ish years later, be prepared to discard a lot as you go.
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