About this title: All the moving, changing shapes of a family, ever in need of work, are shown in Edith Schaeffer's imaginative reflections on infancy to grandmotherhood.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: F. H. Revell Co
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780800707576ISBN:0800707575
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket may have chips and close tears. Previous owners name inscribed inside front. Book has tanning or browning due to normal aging process. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Good. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: F. H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, N.J.
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780800707576ISBN:0800707575
Description: Good. No dust jacket. Signed by previous owner. 255 p.; 24 cm. read more
Description: Very good. Dust Cover Missing. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: F. H. Revell Co
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780800707576ISBN:0800707575
Description: Acceptable. FORMER LIBRARY BOOK. MAY HAVE COVER WEAR, SPINE CREASES, HIGHLIGHTING, UNDERLINING & PAGES YELLOWED FROM AGE. FASTER SERVICE FROM US! ! ! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
"I loved this book! Mrs. Schaeffer's writing style is vivid and poignant. I was immediately drawn into the very scenes she described, watching their family dynamics unfold before me. She captures the essence of family life and the purpose of family in a way I've never contemplated before. Each chapter is full of the beautiful possibilities that exist in a family environment, without neglecting the realities of the effects of our sinful natures and the sinful influences of the world around us. The book is full of both inspiration and practical ideas that are relevant for any family."
"Not that I've read a lot of books about "family," but I'd have to rate Edith Schaeffer's What is a Family? as a really unique and valuable find. When I picture your typical book that sets out to both define and celebrate the idea of "family," I get the picture in my mind of a "too perfect" happy nuclear family -- Dad, Mom, 2 kids, and the family dog in their mini-van. A book with parenting tips and little ideas for rainy-day activities for your pre-schoolers, etc, etc.
I love how Schaeffer doesn't for once make these cliche assumptions as she seeks to embrace the concept of family. Nor does she make the sloppy gesture so commonly used as a crutch nowadays of trying to label any group of sexual partners and their dependents as a family. She writes a book that is far more rich and thoughtful. A book that had me (a woman with no children, at that) riveted and excited about the concept of family, as God has designed it.
The author has her own charming style of writing. Her book is full of sample scenes and dialogues that you might hear in the Schaeffer home. The author's purpose I think, is to engage the imagination and to invite you into her home, so to speak... something that she and her husband did countless times with singles, couples and families as they initiated and maintained the still-flourishing L'Abri center in Switzerland.
One thing that blew me away when I read this book was Schaeffer's emphasis on the multi-generational nature of family, and her stressing the fact that family is not just about the perfect, sunny times. A healthy, happy family can be one that comes together day after day supporting a chronically ill or disabled family member. Sickness, disability, and death are a very real part of any family and Shaeffer does not gloss over these points. In fact, she dwells on them gently, but extensively. There is an entire chapter that is largely devoted to ways to care for a family member who may be bed-ridden.
Honestly, reading What is a Family? was the first and only place I've ever had it explained how to lovingly give a bed-ridden person a sponge-bath in step-by-step detail. Wow. And yet, how truly fitting to the concept of living as a God-honoring family. Whether it be a 2-day stomach-flu, a 2-month maternity bedrest, or a 2 year battle with terminal illness, every family will deal with members who genuinely need to know love and care in time of pain. Really good stuff.
The one thing I had to get over was the slight embarrassment of reading this book in public. It's the kind of book that you blush a little to answer when someone tries to strike up book-related conversation. Intelligent co-worker: "So, what's that there you're reading?" Me: "Oh this? (gulp) It's called What is a Family?" Intelligent co-worker: (slightly underwhelmed) "Is that something you're trying to learn more about?" (As if I were reading a book called What is a Ball? or What is a Sofa?)
Anyway, really good read. And, word to the wise -- never be intimidated by the fact that a book was written in the 1970's. Believe it or not, some of the best books ever written were actually penned before the year 2000, despite what the New York Times Bestseller list would have you believe.
"Read this book when the older kids were babies and it was a great book to read especially about how to be a servant and what is means to pass the baton of truth in your family."
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