Family Re-Union: Reconnecting Parents and Children in Adulthood

Robert Kuttner, founder of the American Prospect, and his wife, Sharland Trotter (now deceased), a psychologist, have written Family Re-Union: Reconnecting Parents and Children in Adulthood, based on their own experience and Trotter's research into intergenerational relationships. The authors offer suggestions on how to negotiate what is essentially a new relationship dynamic, cautioning parents to ""communicate trust and to cultivate skills of active listening"" rather than immediately giving an opinion to an adult child who is learning to make decisions. Kuttner and Trotter's work is a thoughtful rumination on the nature and intricacies of adult child and parent relationships. (May)