I commend Dr. Mattocks for his forthright presentation of Broken Family--Fractured Society, which addresses the alarming and deteriorating condition of the family in our contemporary society, and offers advice and encouragement based on a firm foundation of biblical principles. The author's intent is to promote the preservation of marriage in the values that the Lord gave the human family in the Garden of Eden. This is an invaluable work for those interested in one of the most crucial issues facing humankind. This insightful book is a must-read for every family, church leader, teacher, and counselor--anyone interested and involved in the challenge of restoring holiness in marriage. Mary Melton, MA, California Dr. Mattocks shows that marriage goes far beyond man and woman coming together and exchanging vows and rings. It is in fact fundamental to the survival of mankind and critical in God's plan. Sonia Golding, Birmingham, England

Real solutions to a hidden epidemic: family estrangement. Estrangement from a family member is one of the most painful life experiences. It is devastating not only to the individuals directly involved--collateral damage can extend upward, downward, and across generations, More than 65 million Americans suffer such rifts, yet little guidance exists on how to cope with and overcome them. In this book, Karl Pillemer combines the advice of people who have successfully reconciled with powerful insights from social science research. The result is a unique guide to mending fractured families. Fault Lines shares for the first time findings from Dr. Pillemer's ten-year groundbreaking Cornell Reconciliation Project, based on the first national survey on estrangement; rich, in-depth interviews with hundreds of people who have experienced it; and insights from leading family researchers and therapists. He assures people who are estranged, and those who care about them, that they are not alone and that fissures can be bridged. Through the wisdom of people who have "been there," Fault Lines shows how healing is possible through clear steps that people can use right away in their own families. It addresses such questions as: How do rifts begin? What makes estrangement so painful? Why is it so often triggered by a single event? Are you ready to reconcile? How can you overcome past hurts to build a new future with a relative? Tackling a subject that is achingly familiar to almost everyone, especially in an era when powerful outside forces such as technology and mobility are lessening family cohesion, Dr. Pillemer combines dramatic stories, science-based guidance, and practical repair tools to help people find the path to reconciliation.

'A life-changing new book' DAILY MAIL What problem touches millions of people and causes distress so profound that it can last a lifetime? What if no reliable professional guidance exists for this problem, so most people who suffer from it are on their own in finding solutions? This critically important issue - and hidden epidemic - is family estrangement. Few problems are so widespread and so damaging, sometimes for decades and across generations, and yet there has not been a definitive, popular and data-informed book about how families are broken and stay broken - until now. Fault Lines is a fascinating, moving and above all practical treatment of this complex issue, aimed at adults of all ages. Based on 300 in-depth interviews with 1,800 individuals, this book captures the eloquence of ordinary people facing family challenges that threaten their identity, health and well-being, relying on sources never before available, including a unique combination of rich, in-depth interviews, data from large-scale surveys and conversations with leading family therapists. This is the first book to reveal successful strategies from people who have found ways to repair rifts or live peacefully with the consequences when nothing can be done - and the first to offer hope to broken families which need it the most.

If only “we the people” of America could understand that the American Revolution was only a mere political upheaval compared to the moral war we now face. We are divided in morals and ethics more than in culture, wherein truth is more an option than a necessity. Ever since time began, the most celebrated nations have been those that have abridged the exorbitant chasm between morality and secularism, between feelings and principles, righteousness and unrighteousness. America appears to have joined the infamous tradition of derelict and ungodly nations that have surrendered their integrity for power and wealth, like ancient Babylon. In this The Last Word to America, the intent is to paint a living portrait of the ways in which America has abandoned divine counsel—how Washington, significant events, and personalities have shaped personal experience. It explores music and the perverse arts, through which philosophers are damaging our young people and the families of America are sullied.

This volume assesses contemporary church responses to multicultural diversity and resisted categories of social difference, with a central focus on whether or how racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, and gender differences are validated by churches (and especially black churches) torn between competing inclusive and exclusive tendencies.

As cities sprawl across Latin America, absorbing more and more of its people, crime and violence have become inescapable. From the paramilitary invasion of Medell¡n in Colombia, the booming wealth of crack dealers in Managua, Nicaragua and police corruption in Mexico City, to the glimmers of hope in Lima, this book provides a dynamic analysis of urban insecurity. Based on new empirical evidence, interviews with local people and historical contextualization, the authors attempts to shed light on the fault-lines which have appeared in Latin American society. Neoliberal economic policy, it is argued, has intensified the gulf between elites, insulated in gated estates monitored by private security firms, and the poor, who are increasingly mistrustful of state-sponsored attempts to impose order on their slums. Rather than the current trend towards government withdrawal, the situation can only be improved by co-operation between communities and police to build new networks of trust. In the end, violence and insecurity are inseparable from social justice and democracy.

Cites successful examples of community-based policing.

Examines how portrayals of families in Hardy's novels are used to comment on the socio-historical changes in Victorian England.