Sibling by Choice

by Ursula Riedel-Pfaefflin

Exploring the historical, social, political, economic, and ecological dynamics that shape who we are and how we relate to one another, Smith and Riedel-Pfaefflin uncover the many layers and complexities of race, gender, class, and violence that make change difficult to achieve and sustain, and discuss the significance of an intercultural sibling metaphor for the teaching and training of pastoral care and counseling. They incorporate art, myth, history, social sciences, and scripture to demonstrate how the concepts of intercultural realities, systemic thinking, and narrative agency help us to understand historical processes that still have an influence on today's problems of violence between cultures, races, gender, and religions. Smith and Riedel-Pfaefflin offer their own life experiences, enlightenment from theological giants, teaching tools, group exercises, and case studies to build more culturally competent counseling and teaching and to enhance personal and social transformation.

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2004

Reviews

[Rev. Sharon Wylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard for me to know how to rate this book. I liked what it had to say, but I struggled with how it was said. Some of the case studies used as examples in the book were so abstract that I wasn't sure what point was being made. And I got confused as the two authors switched viewpoints and stories throughout.

However, I appreciated that the authors were attempting to bridge divides that keep many of us from reaching out to one another, and their call to understand how we are all grounded in our own cultural and personal histories is vitally important, especially in this world where "history" is considered to be just a few weeks ago.