Families and how to survive them By Robin Skynner and John Cleese

This is perhaps not my usual style of reading as it was a very psychological, self help kind of book. But the nature in which it was written made it an enjoyable and understanble book. I felt that in many ways it made me open my eyes to things that go on within and around the family a little more, as sometimes we are unaware or unknowing of the actions that occur and the reason for why they do. The book is set out as if it was an actual conversation and for me, this format worked better. Most other self help books tend to talk with a lot of jargon that is very difficult to understand, unless you have a very logical and knowledgable mind that is. But in there book they talk as if it is two ordinary people having the conversation and so you feel as if you are actually just sitting in and listening, yet at the same time you are understanding what they are saying and are either agreeing with or disagreeing with it. I do feel that this is a book that could challenge you in many perspectives, because I dont think there information is always right. But isnt that what we all tend to do? argue with the psychotherapist who is merely trying to help and support us.

They seem to touch on many bits about the family and a lot of it is actually interelated and connected to one another. It is something that all families should be able to relate to somewhere along the lines. Of course there are taboo topics that they discuss, but as they mention in the book, they are taboo because we learn not to talk about them from watching our own family, and therefore that they must be locked behind a screen and never expressed. But it also talks about how this affects the family dynamics, how it can cause disruptions in a relationship, fuzzy boundries to develop and how it can even ruin the sexual intimacy that two people can have. I think it is very hard to review a self help book like this, because it does have a lot to say and its book intended to make you think. It is one of those books that I think you have to read and review for yourself within your own thoughts and privacy.