The Normal One: Life with a Difficult or Damaged Sibling

The Normal One: Life with a Difficult or Damaged Sibling

What is it like to grow up with a sibling who is difficult or damaged?

Few bonds in our lives are as psychologically and emotionally significant as the ones we share with our sisters and brothers, although little has been written about this formative relationship. In this first-of-its-kind book, psychotherapist Jeanne Safer takes us into the hidden world of problem siblings and explores the far-reaching effects on the lives of those who are considered the â€œnormal ones.â€

Drawing on more than sixty interviews with normal, or intact, siblings, Safer explores the daunting challenges they face, and probes the complex feelings that can strain families and damage lives. A â€œnormalâ€ sibling herself, Safer chronicles her own life-shaping experiences with her troubled brother. She examines the double-edged reality of normal ones: how they both compensate for their siblingsâ€™ abnormality and feel guilty for their own health and success. With both wisdom and empathy, she delineates the â€œCaliban Syndrome,â€ a set of personality traits characteristic of higher-functioning siblings: premature maturity, compulsion to achieve, survivor guilt, and fear of contagion.

Essential reading for normal ones and those who love them, this landmark work offers readers insight, compassion, and tools to help resolve childhood pain. It is a profound and eye-opening examination of a subject that has too long been shrouded in darkness.
Country USA
Brand DELTA
Manufacturer Random House Publishing Group
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780385337564
Color Cream
ReleaseDate 2003-09-30
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780385337564

Country	USA
Brand	DELTA
Manufacturer	Random House Publishing Group
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780385337564
Color	Cream
ReleaseDate	2003-09-30
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780385337564

The Normal One: Life with a Difficult or Damaged Sibling

Customers who purchased this also purchased....