On Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. Chaplain Patty Brown-Barnett will begin leading a six-week book discussion on Friedman’s Fables by Edwin H. Friedman. In this collection of fables, and in his other works, the author has left a lasting legacy of wisdom as a family therapist, an ordained rabbi, and a leader in Murray Bowen’s family systems approach to understanding human behavior. Using the ancient art form of fables, Friedman offers a fresh way to understand “human foibles” with “outrageous tales” that help readers catch glimpses of their own relationships and lives. In one story, participants will see how people may be “controlled, and even tyrannized, by the sensitivities of others”. In another, one domino that manages not to be dominoed saves the day for all the others. We will also read and discuss the story that features Murray Bowen’s famous line, “If all else fails, don’t just do something, stand there!” You are invited to join these discussions in the Living Room near the main desk at Meadowlark Hills. Please sign up in one of the Blue Book at the Hospitality Desk, where you may also purchase books for $17.

  The fables we will read and discuss are (in order): 

• “The Bridge”
• “A Nervous Condition”
• “The Power of Belief”
• “An American Holly”
• “Panic” and
• “Net Results”