For the Family’s Sake: The Value of Home in Everyone’s Life Susan Schaeffer Macaulay (Crossway) Not at all an academic book , this nearly devotional collection is so delightful and wise it must be mentioned!
Gender & Grace: Love, Work & Parenting in a Changing World Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen (IVP) A rare book, combining rigorous scholarship, Biblical studies and practical insight. A must read for us all!
Families at the Crossroads: Beyond Traditional & Modern Options Rodney Clapp (IVP) Again, an exceptional work, serious-minded but readable, developing a theologically-inspired “third way” of thinking. Excellent.
Woman and the Future of the Family Elizabeth Fox-Genovese et al (Center for Public Justice) A stimulating essay with three respondents make this dialogue very, very helpful for seeking profoundly Christian insights. Responses are by Stanley Grenz, Mardi Keyes & Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen
Men and Women–Created or Constructed? The Great Gender Debate Elaine Storkey (Paternoster) This slim volume is at once brilliant in its explanation of various schools of thought and a blessing in its distinctively Christian alternative. Imported from England, it is a must for anyone studying in the field!
From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and the American Family Debate Don Browning, et al (Westminster) This lead volume in an ongoing series of scholarly works which attempt to transcend the typical liberal-conservative debate has gotten rave reviews. Very helpful text on a variety of aspects of family studies written from top sociologists, theologians, counselors and scholars.
Sex for Christians Lewis Smedes (Eerdmans) A classic which relates sexuality to the Biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption. Well-written and thoughtful.
Sexual Character: Beyond Technique to Intimacy Marva Dawn (Eerdmans) A serious-minded and pastorally caring collection on a variety of aspects of sexuality, marriage, singleness and the like.
Real Choices: Listening to Women; Looking for Alternative to Abortion Frederica Mathewes-Green (Conciliar Press) Truly an extraordinary book on this controversial topic. Mathewes-Green is a respected writer (and commentator on NPR) who has given us a fresh approach which attempts to hear women’s voices, build bridges of concern and create a women-friendly pro-life consensus.
The Tender Land: A Family Love Story Kathleen Finneran (Houghton Mifflin) Not exactly a Christian book, this personal memoir of a remarkable family is the best thing I’ve ever read about a child’s memory, the relationship of siblings, coming of age, being in a family as the parents age and so on. The heart of the narrative is the suicide of the author’s younger teenage brother and her painful grief. Breathtaking.