The Family: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Abstract

The lives and personal experiences of the authors reflect the key focus of this book: the relation between family diversity and family policy. Each of the three authors of this book are of different racial backgrounds and of different religions. Both genders are represented in the authorship team, and across the team there exist age differences of more than a generation. In turn, while all authors have immediate and extended families that span multiple generations, our locations in these generational groups vary. For instance, one author is a member of the youngest generation in her family constellation whereas another author is the parent of several teenagers and, at the same time, contributes to the support of an aged mother. Add to this diversity the fact that across their respective lives the authors have had experiences with their immediate and extended families that pertained to both normative life events such as births, deaths, marriages and divorces, and to non-normative life events such as unexpected illnesses, changes in family structure, financial calamities, and severe accidents.