Starting out as a parent can be an overwhelming experience for which many people feel unprepared. While feeling the bewilderment, stress, and exhaustion that is inherent in this life-changing situation, a fleeting glimpse of what happens behind closed doors would do wonders in letting parents know they are not alone in what they are experiencing. This priceless new book provides parents with the personal stories and professional insights that provide them with this perspective. Through touching anecdotes and professional guidance, this educational guide explores the complexity of familial bonds, the idea of the befuddled parent, the concept of a core or authentic self, and the redemption and forgiveness needed to address all of our imperfections. In this superb guide the author freely shares her own experiences as a parent and frankly discusses the psychological issues that many parents face. She proposes a relationship model of parenting, in which parent and child learn flexibility and resilience as well as mutual participation and influence. Tried and tested in the Toronto household it is a paradigm that reduces family conflict, and creates an atmosphere of harmony in the home. A field guide to the intricacies of parenthood, the book explains the tools needed to successfully traverse and enjoy its often rough terrain. Family Entanglement takes readers through the familial arc from the early years of sleep deprivation, the middle years of school and homework, the teen years of sexuality and autonomy, and the bittersweet era of grown children leaving home. Possessing an all-encompassing approach that is supremely informative while extraordinarily touching, this invaluable book provides parents with an authoritative look at all the complexities of the parenting experience.
About the Author: Dr. Ellen L. K. Toronto has nearly forty years of experience in the psychology field. She earned her bachelor's in psychology from Miami University in Ohio and completed a doctorate in from the University of Michigan and a clinical internship at the Lafayette Clinic in Detroit. Toronto is a member of the American Psychological Association and a founding member and past president of the Michigan Psychoanalytical Council. Throughout a diverse career, she has acted as a psychotherapist, parent coordinator, divorce mediator, and custody evaluator, all while managing her own private practice in Ann Arbor. Between being published in numerous journals and her diverse career, Toronto is a foremost authority in her field. Dr. Toronto and her husband, Robert Toronto, are the parents of four sons and have ten grandchildren. Dr. Robert Toronto has forty years of experience in the field of organizational psychology. His background includes a PhD, in organizational psychology from The University of Michigan; a master's in industrial psychology from the University of Utah; and a BS in chemistry from the University of Utah. During his diverse career he has been employed at The University of Michigan Health System where he conducted group and leadership development projects and has served as director of the UAW-Ford/Life Education Program where he conducted research on the effects of worker adult-education on worker's children. His experience in the corporate world has focused on organizational assessment, survey feedback, team decision-making, interpersonal relationships, and communication. At present he is a lecturer at the College of Management at The University of Michigan-Dearborn where he teaches organizational behavior at the undergraduate and graduate levels.