A well-structured journey through the pitfalls of parenting kids collaboratively.
Harlow’s second self-help guide, following Happily Divorced (2019), is for readers striving to co-parent well after separation.
This book offers a variety of suggestions for how to navigate the most difficult decisions regarding co-parenting. She wants parents to thrive in collaborative relationships rather than fight at every step—or just try to “get through” until the children are grown. She’s optimistic that, in most cases, improvement in co-parenting is possible. Harlow covers a wide range of relevant topics, starting with “uncoupling”: how couples might tell their kids about a decision to separate and how to address questions of custody, living arrangements, and potential reconciliations. She then introduces decisions that need to be made when first establishing a co-parenting plan, including elements that one might not consider immediately, such as arrangements involving pets, vacations, extracurricular activities. The author also tackles questions regarding money, new partners, and stepparenting. Harlow is consistent in her approach, often bringing her suggestions back to the golden Rule. She wants co-parents to be empathetic, intentional, and good communicators, even coining a new term that encompasses these states: matter-of-fact caring. The clearly organized structure of this book successfully presents the author’s advice in a logical order while also laying out personal experiences—such as finding a new home after a divorce, attending parent-teacher conferences, dealing with unexpected events, and more—as she tried to build a collaborative co-parenting framework with her ex-husband; at one point, her son writes one section about his parents’ relationship. However, what’s missing in this book is expert advice and cited evidence to back up Harlow’s advice and claims, particularly in sections such as discipline, in which insights from a child or family psychologist might have strengthened the author’s opinions. A few more anecdotes from other families would also have provided a more varied perspective.
A well-structured journey through the pitfalls of parenting kids collaboratively.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 119
Publisher: Promethean Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A well-considered, compact guide to centuries of literature about kindness and happiness.
Danks invites readers to contemplate the legacies and memories they will leave, sharing numerous passages and summaries from literature and self-help books that direct people to happiness through sharing and kindness.
Man has sought, throughout time, fame, wealth and immortality–but also happiness. Contentment has also been a goal of the author’s, as he summarizes and considers many sources here, from books to film, for readers. Danks argues that we all have time left to improve our quality of life by doing simple tasks. Urging generosity, compassion, selflessness and grace, the book compiles many sources of wisdom into a concise volume, with some tips for everyday behaviors that may guide pilgrims on this path. Danks believes that these positive changes will bring rewards to the giver as well as the recipients, including creating a sort of good karma feedback loop in which practicing kindness can make a person even more thoughtful and aware of their surroundings. Judge less and assume people have good intentions, he writes, and be thankful for the good actions of those around you. The author also addresses situations of which higher income groups may have little understanding, including the approximately 12 percent of Americans who live in poverty, and the aspects that make the leap to middle class so difficult for many. While he provides a couple suggestions to ease their lot, this topic is not completely addressed, nor is the question of how such inequality experienced by all in daily life affects happiness up and down the economic ladder. But Danks also recognizes the largest argument that many people may have against improving their lives–not enough time–and provides references and examples to illustrate how space can be made for kindness. The book concludes with 40 simple actions a person might take to incorporate kindness into daily life.
A well-considered, compact guide to centuries of literature about kindness and happiness.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-615-24207-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Inspiring for family-history buffs but too staid for most general readers.
A sentimental history of family lore and furniture.
Following their mother’s death, former Philadelphia Inquirer Home & Design editor Tracy (Journalism/Washington and Lee Univ.) and her sister assumed the task of sifting through a household’s worth of antique furniture and collectibles. Faced with the dilemma of letting go of these long-treasured possessions, the author writes that “[w]e can, in fact, never be free of our stuff until we have dealt with the stories it carries.” Discussing her military family’s Canton china, the author begins with the story of her great-grandfather, a Civil War veteran who reared his family in varying remote Army outposts on the frontier. In 1900, his daughter Bess, Tracy’s grandmother, married a lieutenant and moved to Asia, where she was pregnant seven times. Sadly, due to tragedies like amoebic dysentery, only one of their children—the author’s mother—survived to adulthood. Interspersed with photos of family members and collectibles large and small—a sandalwood chest from China, a Spanish mission chest acquired in Manila, a so-called “George Washington chair,” where the first president may or may not have sat—the book is fueled by Tracy’s interest in unpacking old family lore by connecting the dots of her newly inherited possessions. These historical facts are relevant also because of the auction at which most of the items were sold. The author catalogues each piece, revealing multidimensional tales of how they came into her family’s possession and what each one represents (the dueling pistols, for instance, were once owned by Aaron Burr), and her newfound knowledge has the unsurprising effect of increasing her seller’s remorse. After the auction, Tracy furthered her thirst for information about her lineage by traveling to the Philippines.
Inspiring for family-history buffs but too staid for most general readers.Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-553-80726-4
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
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