Gina Bria

The Art of Family: Rituals, Imagination, and Everyday Spirituality Gina Bria

Jacket Description/Flap: "It is not the lack of time that crushes our family lives, it is the lack of presence, stricken as we are with the tasks, anxieties and guilt of being in a family. But in between what we all struggle with: the parenting, spousing, cleaning up, working, and carving out a minute or two for yourself, how do you give yourself to your children in the conditions you find yourself in? This is how: by being present--not in every moment (we're tired enough!)--but in key activities such as play, spiritual discussions, tender physical attention and little daily rituals that can see us through the pace of life today to a strong, coherent, lived family life." Gina Bria knows how to talk to families and make them listen and think. With a tone that is at once authoritative and compassionate, she gives us the steps for creating families that withstand the pressures of modern society. The key is to create a personal family culture around the domestic rituals associated with family, such as making your home your true haven from the outside world, really understanding how to play with your children and in your marriage, caring for each others' bodies--young and old, and finding a spiritual path to travel together. In essence, Bria shows us how to assign particular and special meaning to the everyday tasks that make up our home life and in so doing, build a family that can withstand the daily example of conformity, rejection and disillusion. Review Citations:

Library Journal 05/01/1998 pg. 104 (EAN 9780440507727, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  Bria, Gina Bria, an anthropologist, is an International Fellow with the Institute for Family Development, Lifecycle, and an Affiliate Fellow at the Center for the Study of Young Children at Columbia University.