My mom lived her faith, the times were different and having lots of brats was the norm for many people. Economics, among other things, has changed that. We often marvel at how different we all are and also how much the same. But imagine yourself the parent of a mass murderer? Or a drug addict? Parents tend to blame themselves. We have our alcoholics and gamblers. When you consider the many grandparents you have, is it any wonder our children are unlike us in so many ways. Unfortunately 'Harper's' is by subscription but for those interested the subject, the book may be of interest.
'Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity '
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Far-Tree-Parents-Children-Identity/dp/0743236718/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity: Andrew Solomon: 9780743236713: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
From review of book in Harper's, June 2013 by Gary Greenberg. One of the best magazines available imho.
"All our acorns, in other words, fall far from the tree. But some are more distantly sown than others, and for Solomon, sameness/difference is a much more significant and interesting divide than nature/nurture. Most children share at least some traits with their parents, he writes. They possess what he calls vertical identities, in which attributes and values are passed down ... not only through strands of DNA, but also through shared cultural norms. Ethnicity, skin color, nationalitythese are all bases on which vertical identities are constructed. But a child can also acquireand sometimes, through recessive or mutated genes, inherittraits foreign to his or her parents and must therefore acquire identity from a peer group. This is a horizontal identity. Autism, physical disability, and schizophrenia are all horizontal identities, and the burdens they impose on child and parent alike are Solomons main subject."
[Review] | Root and Branch, by Gary Greenberg | Harper's Magazine
'Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity '
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Far-Tree-Parents-Children-Identity/dp/0743236718/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8]Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity: Andrew Solomon: 9780743236713: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
From review of book in Harper's, June 2013 by Gary Greenberg. One of the best magazines available imho.
"All our acorns, in other words, fall far from the tree. But some are more distantly sown than others, and for Solomon, sameness/difference is a much more significant and interesting divide than nature/nurture. Most children share at least some traits with their parents, he writes. They possess what he calls vertical identities, in which attributes and values are passed down ... not only through strands of DNA, but also through shared cultural norms. Ethnicity, skin color, nationalitythese are all bases on which vertical identities are constructed. But a child can also acquireand sometimes, through recessive or mutated genes, inherittraits foreign to his or her parents and must therefore acquire identity from a peer group. This is a horizontal identity. Autism, physical disability, and schizophrenia are all horizontal identities, and the burdens they impose on child and parent alike are Solomons main subject."
[Review] | Root and Branch, by Gary Greenberg | Harper's Magazine
