Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family Henry Holt & Company Nov 2002 isbn: 0805068937 $26.00 buy The Spirit of the Family Henry Holt & Company Oct 2002 isbn: 0805068945 $35.00 buy Other Books by Al Gore Other Books by Tipper Gore

Al & Tipper Gore, December 6

Friday, 6pm
Longfellow Building, Askwith Hall
13 Appian Way, Cambridge
No tickets are required.

Former Vice President and bestselling author Al Gore collaborates with his wife, Tipper, on a groundbreaking book about the changing face of the American family

Al and Tipper Gore have long considered family their bedrock. They've also spent many years studying the American family, and now, in this provocative and personal book, they explore the myriad ways in which the idea of family is being redefined.

Over the past two generations, cultural shifts and economic pressures have profoundly affected every family in the nation: balancing work and family now poses a bigger challenge than ever before, day-care and after-school child care programs are too often dangerously inadequate, and new technological advancements have dramatically changed the ways we communicate. But if many of the traditional landmarks by which families formerly steered their course have disappeared, change has also opened up exciting possibilities, yielding an explosion of new family forms and novel solutions to age-old problems.

In this penetrating and moving exploration of the contemporary family landscape, the Gores share stories drawn from their own experiences, as well as introduce us to a dozen other families they have come to know over the years. Combining personal insight and expert opinions, historical and global perspectives, Joined at the Heart identifies an emerging reality-and demonstrates that, in the face of unprecedented change, the inherent need for family is stronger than ever.

Quotes

"In this wise and clear-eyed book, Al and Tipper Gore see all families—single parent, blended, gay and lesbian, dual-earner, and breadwinner-homemaker—as works in progress. Warmly appreciative of the diversity of ways we are joined at the heart, this book is a call to restore the social ecology on which the American family depends." —Arlie Russell Hochschild, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Time Bind

"A remarkable blend of personal memoir, ethnography and research findings. This inspiring, heart-warming, and compelling book will redirect the American conversation away from sterile moralizing toward an approach based on the realism, respect and wisdom that families deserve." —Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology, Boston College, and author of The Overworked American

"This is a warm and wise exploration of the new terrain of family life that also offers practical and compassionate recommendations about how individuals, communities and governments can help support the family. Al and Tipper Gore's love of family is infectious, and their book makes us believe that we can all be joined at the heart." —Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Professor of Sociology, University of Washington, and author of Love Between Equals

"This ambitious and hopeful book radiates faith that ordinary people can build strong lives and good communities. The Gores invite everyone to the table, and their circle of caring extends to the whole human family." —Dr. Mary Pipher, author of The Middle of Everywhere and Reviving Ophelia

"When politicians speak of family values, I'm often discouraged by how drastically they've missed the boat regarding the real problems American families face: conflicts between the demands of work and home, intolerance of family groups that don't fit the standard mold, and a frightening scarcity of such crucial resources as time, money, housing and good child care. This book is different. It addresses the concerns that truly matter to healthy family life, and is honest about our culture's strengths and weaknesses in supporting our children's rearing." —Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible

"Here is America's heart and soul embodied in the connected lives of its families—stories of our citizens told sensitively and thoughtfully by two observers who have together lived the moral and psychological message their book's title means to convey." —Robert Coles, author of The Moral Life of Children

"This engaging book is serious in intent and playful in execution. Al and Tipper Gore use the changing, challenged American family as a prism to examine what's going well in our country and what could be going much, much better." —Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone

"An extraordinary achievement. The Gores' experience and vision, plus their comprehensive research, make Joined at the Heart a must . . . As entertaining as it is accessible, this book reaches an optimistic conclusion: the family is resilient and will, as it always has, adapt to this new era." —Isabel Allende, author of Daughter of Fortune

"'For us, as for most Americans,' write the former vice-president and his wife, 'family is our bedrock, and we believe the strength of the American family is the nation's bedrock.' But the American family has changed substantially in the last half century and so have the cultural and economic conditions under which it exists. The families the Gores have encountered in a decade of research reflect these changes: one couple has children from the husband's three different relationships, a gay white couple adopts two black children, a single mother struggles with poverty. The couple add stories from their own marriage and consult with historians, sociologists, psychologists and educators, giving the American family the same comprehensive treatment Al's Earth in the Balance gave the environment. Al and Tipper examine subjects as diverse as the increased divorce rate, the parent-teen gap, dual-income households and the health problems associated with sleep deprivation. They divide the book into themes, including love, communication, work, play and community, and show how these factors influence one another, taking a holistic approach to the underlying problems affecting today's families." —Publishers Weekly

Author Biography

Al Gore is the former Vice President of the United States and author of the New York Times bestseller Earth in the Balance. During twenty-five years of public service, he has made the family a priority by fighting for programs and policies that are responsive to the needs of families and communities. He is now a professor at both Fisk University and Middle Tennessee State University, where he teaches "Family-Centered Community Building."

Tipper Gore is an advocate for mental health awareness and served as an Adviser to the President on Mental Health Policy from 1993 to 2001. She worked as a photojournalist for the Tennessean and published a collection of her photographs, Picture This, in 1996. Her first book, Raising PG Kids in an X-Rated Society, was published in 1987.

For the past eleven years, the Gores have organized an annual two-day forum called Family Re-Union. They have four children and two grandchildren, and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Book Excerpt

From Joined at the Heart:
Not enough time. Not enough energy. Not enough sleep. Faced with too many competing demands, many families find they simply don't have enough hours in the day to give both work and family their absolute best. With record numbers of parents putting in stunningly long-and steadily increasing-hours at the workplace, the hard truth is that in America work and family are wildly out of balance. Work is important, but so is family. We want good jobs, good incomes, and a strong economy. But we also want strong families, good marriages, and the chance to be good parents to our children. We want a decent night's sleep and time with loved ones and friends. In short, we want well-rounded lives that are fulfilling both at work and with our families.

The realization that there is no easy way to achieve this goal is beginning to sink in. To bring our lives back into balance, we must do more than decide how much we value our families: for most people, that's not difficult at all. The real challenge is measuring the relative values of work and family and then manifesting those values in our daily lives.