You Can Go Home Again: Reconnecting with Your Family

by Monica McGoldrick

Book Overview

In this revelatory book, esteemed family therapist Monica McGoldrick explores why families behave as they do, using genograms (family trees) to illustrate family patterns. Mapped out over a three-generation span, repeated estrangements, alliances, even divorces and suicides, prove more than coincidental. McGoldrick uses the genograms of famous families - including the Kennedys, Hepburns, Beethovens and Brontes - the discuss the influence of birth...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393316505
• ISBN13: 9780393316506
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Reconnecting

This is still the most engaging and comprehensive book on re-connecting with you family of origin. Marvelously researched and documented of a broad range of fascinating family histories.

Phenomenal

This is an incredible book, and a must have for anyone who is planning on researching their family history. The book demonstrates several family trees of famous people, and they are accompanied by their stories of loss, emotional abuse, and relationship patterns and coincidences. Each chapter also ends with a series of questions designed to help the readers uncover their family history and secrets from their family. It is a fun, inspirational, and informative book accessible to all readers.

A beautiful and readable book on family systems dynamics

This is a wonderful book. You won't see many family therapy jargons here. Insead, Monica McGoldrick delicately uses famous people's biographic stories to illustrate the complex intergenerational family systems dynamics. Ths book is easy to read. It is suitable for various kinds of readers. If you want to explore into your family history to better aware of what impacts your family have on you, this is for you. The book offers a lot of lively examples and tips on how to construct your own family genograms. You will experience the incredible power of the family systems, and also the intertwined influence of larger social-cultural-historical context. if you are a family/marriage counselor, the book is a necessary resource for you when you are dealing with the clients' family of origin issues. If you are simply insterested to delve into famous people's lives, the book also can satisfy your curiousity. It explains how family patterns accross generations would shape those people's personality characteristics and relationship patterns. I highly recommend this book to all mental health practitioners, and all who want to improve your life and get a better understanding of yourself!

Historical reviews of famous family from a Bowen system view

McGoldrick examined many of the central concepts of Bowens systems theory and how these concepts are illustrated vividly from many historical families. The book offers a ethnographic lively application of family therapy concepts! It is a must read for students of family therapy.