The Secrets of Happy Families (Bruce Fieler)

 

This was a great book to listen to. Even though our kids are grown, it had lots of good tips.

Notes

- Adapt all the time - Talk, a lot.  - Create a family narrative - learn about ancestors successes and failures. Spend time crafting the story of your positive moments and how you overcame challenges.  - play together 

All happy families are alike. All unhappy families are unhappy in their own way - Tolstoy 

Happiness is something we make. 

Choose happiness. 

The easiest path to unhappiness is to do nothing. 

Tackle the challenge 

Tweak the routines 

Reach for the green stick (Tolstoy reference)

Goodreads says:

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.