There is no perfect family. We are all works in progress. This book is a must read for anyone searching for answers to the family happiness puzzle, which in many ways is all of us. It serves as a guide to find the "sticky glue" that supports the family bond, to enhance the family's spirit and energy and to deepen connections across the family network, which is today refreshingly diverse in membership and structure. Every family has some degree of imbalance, some more than others, and every reader of this book can gain a clearer picture of how to nurture happiness, care for a family's soul and, just as importantly, engage and encourage other family members in this quest. You can't touch the soul of the family, but you are touched by it every day. Family soul is the memories and traits that make the family unique, including rituals, stories, experiences, conflicts and love. It is the family's complex network of relationships, values and activities. It is how we talk, feel and interact when we're together. You will discover how to: * Fortify the family soul with six vitamins or strengtheners--humor, emotion, acceptance, renewal, togetherness and struggle* Identify and applaud the "caretaker"--the champion of the family soul* Use the happiness tool kit--ten tangible ways to strengthen families* Recognize and apply practices that are integral to carving out happy and dynamic families: start a family of one's own, welcome in-laws and special people, bond with friends, discover a soul friend and add pets to the sceneThe exercises and tools are practical, accessible and easy to implement. The author weaves together dozens of colorful, funny and tender anecdotes that surfaced in her research, with illustrations that capture their spirit and theme. Written with empathy and good humor, the inspiring ideas and tips found here will motivate you to listen selflessly, speak from the heart, and practice whooping and praising descriptively--starting now! Susan Smith Kuczmarski, Ed.D., currently teaches at Northwestern University and Loyola University Chicago. She is an award-winning author of five books.

You want to be a loving parent who guides your kids towards a life of happiness and success. But the chaos of parenting life leaves you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or just vaguely annoyed all the time. (Or maybe it's not so vague.)With this practical guide for busy parents and a bonus printable workbook, you'll know how to: * Stop feeling overwhelmed. Get a handle on the swirling chaos of to-do items and appointments and "should"s in your head.* Set yourself up for a happy day, every day. Find out the ingredients you need in your day in order to become your happiest self.* Catch yourself before you lose your cool. Learn what to do when you lose your patience with a temper-taming toolkit of proven tools to get you back on track.* Heal after the storm. For the days when you do lose your cool, you'll get the exact steps to flush the bad mojo from your body and repair the relationship with your child (or your partner).This book gives you the best science-backed tools that you need as a busy parent to become your happiest self.

In The Secrets of Happy Families, New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler has drawn up a blueprint for modern families — a new approach to family dynamics, inspired by cutting-edge techniques gathered from experts in the disciplines of science, business, sports, and the military. Don't worry about family dinner. Let your kids pick their punishments. Ditch the sex talk. Cancel date night. These are just a few of the surprising innovations in this bold first-of-its-kind playbook for today's families. Bestselling author and New York Times family columnist Bruce Feiler found himself squeezed between caring for aging parents and raising his children. So he set out on a three-year journey to find the smartest solutions and the most cutting-edge research about families. Instead of the usual family "experts," he sought out the most creative minds—from Silicon Valley to the set of Modern Family, from the country's top negotiators to the Green Berets—and asked them what team-building exercises and problem-solving techniques they use with their families. Feiler then tested these ideas with his wife and kids. The result is a fun, original look at how families can draw closer together, complete with 200 never-before-seen best practices. Feiler's life-changing discoveries include a radical plan to reshape your family in twenty minutes a week, Warren Buffett's guide for setting an allowance, and the Harvard handbook for resolving conflict. The Secrets of Happy Families is a timely, counterintuitive book that answers the questions countless parents are asking: How do we manage the chaos of our lives? How do we teach our kids values? How do we make our family happier? Written in a charming, accessible style, The Secrets of Happy Families is smart, funny, and fresh, and will forever change how your family lives every day.

An encouraging guide to helping parents find more happiness in their day-to-day family life, from the former lead editor of the New York Times' Motherlode blog. In all the writing and reporting KJ Dell'Antonia has done on families over the years, one topic keeps coming up again and again: parents crave a greater sense of happiness in their daily lives. In this optimistic, solution-packed book, KJ asks: How can we change our family life so that it is full of the joy we'd always hoped for? Drawing from the latest research and interviews with families, KJ discovers that it's possible to do more by doing less, and make our family life a refuge and pleasure, rather than another stress point in a hectic day. She focuses on nine common problem spots that cause parents the most grief, explores why they are hard, and offers small, doable, sometimes surprising steps you can take to make them better. Whether it's getting everyone out the door on time in the morning or making sure chores and homework get done without another battle, How to Be a Happier Parent shows that having a family isn't just about raising great kids and churning them out at destination: success. It's about experiencing joy--real joy, the kind you look back on, look forward to, and live for--along the way.

The brand new thriller from the No.1 Kindle bestselling author of The Perfect Couple and Am I Guilty? “Filled with suspense, intrigue and a cast of engaging characters. Fabulous!” Lucy Clarke, author of The Castaways “Suspicion, secrets and shocking reveals!” Sarah Linley, author of The Trip

Gordon Korman meets The Great Outdoors in this funny and moving debut about a boy who goes on a disastrous family vacation (sweltering heat! bear chases!) that ends with a terrible surprise: his dad's new girlfriend. There are zero reasons for Theo Ripley to look forward to his family vacation. Not only are he, sister Laura, and nature-obsessed Dad going to Big Bend, the least popular National Park, but once there, the family will be camping. And Theo is an indoor animal. It doesn’t help that this will be the first vacation they’re taking since Mom passed away. Once there, the family contends with 110 degree days, wild bears, and an annoying amateur ornithologist and his awful teenage vlogger son. Then, Theo’s dad hits him with a whopper of a surprise: the whole trip is just a trick to introduce his secret new girlfriend. Theo tries to squash down the pain in his chest. But when it becomes clear that this is an auditioning-to-be-his-stepmom girlfriend, Theo must find a way to face his grief and talk to his dad before his family is forever changed.

"A full, big hearted novel.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six Nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta, a family learns the funniest punchlines can hide the hardest truths in this evocative women’s fiction novel from the author of Well-Behaved Indian Women From the outside, the Joshi family is the quintessential Indian-American family. Decades ago, Bina and Deepak immigrated to America, where she became a pillar of their local Indian community and he, a successful psychiatrist. Their eldest daughter, Suhani, is following the footsteps of her father’s career and happily married. Natasha, their middle daughter, is about to become engaged to the son of longtime family friends. And Anuj, their son—well he’s a son and what could be better than that? But a family scandal shows that nothing is as it seems. Bina’s oldest friendship starts to unravel and she finds herself as an outsider in the community she helped build. Suhani discovers that her perfect marriage isn’t as solid as she thought. Natasha faces a series of rejections that send her into a downward spiral. As they encounter public humiliation, gossiping aunties, and self-doubt, the Joshi family must rely on each other like never before. But sometimes, family has to fall apart in order to come back stronger than before.

One of these things is not like the other. That's how Cheri Matzner felt growing up in her adoptive family, and it's what continues to define her as she tries to start a family of her own. Funny and fierce, desperate for connection yet pushing it away with both hands, she needs to jump-start a marriage in danger of flatlining and save her career from scandal. But Cheri is still contending with a complicated relationship with her parents-her aging Italian bombshell of a mother and a distant father who looms large, even in death-unaware of the sacrifices they made to be together or of the difficult truths and lies in their marriage. When tragedy unravels Cheri's well-designed defenses, she is thrust into an odyssey of acceptance that brings her full circle back to her dramatic origins. Sometimes it takes half a lifetime to come of age. To be able to glimpse our parents beyond their roles as our parents. To uncover the many versions of truth within our family stories and within our own. And to laugh at it all just a little bit sooner.

What is the reason for increasing negativity in the world? Why is it so difficult to let go of resentment, regret, and guilt? Why have children stopped listening to us? Alaina, a mother of two, answers these questions and more in this collection of twenty easy-to-read stories. She is determined to give her children a self-empowered and emotionally stable life while dealing with daily triggers like peer pressure, adult bullying, society demands, and fears of all kinds. Enjoy light-hearted interactions between family members interspersed with Alaina's moments of deep self-reflection. This helps her family tackle repetitive feelings of irritation, anxiety, and loss of control that drive most people up the wall. Recharge and renew yourself as you find out how the family converts personal stressors into powerful tools that work for them instead of against them.

Every member of a family plays a vital role in the health and happiness of the household. Everyone is important, deserves to be treated with love and respect, and needs to know that when they make mistakes they will still be loved unconditionally. And when every member of the family is pulling for each other and on the same team, everybody wins. But is this kind of family life even possible? Parenting expert Dr. Kevin Leman says it is, and he's ready to show moms and dads exactly how they can make it happen in their family--in just five days. He shows families how to · communicate honestly and kindly · prioritize the right things · maintain great attitudes and behaviors · determine the role they play in the family structure · make family time count As always, Dr. Leman's outstanding advice is laced with humor, great stories, and the wisdom that comes only from a lifetime of experience. For parents who've had it up to here with bickering, hurt feelings, and emotional exhaustion, Have a Happy Family by Friday is just what the doctor ordered.