Unlocking Your Family Patterns: Finding Freedom From a Hurtful Past

It's taken me over 60 years to understand myself. And finally the whole picture has unfolded with understanding! I think this book has changed my life in a way that no other has ever before! If I could recommend a book to every human being to read, along with the Bible, this would be the one. I wish I had had it at the beginning of my life, rather than toward the end.I am so grateful to God for all of these authors and their gifting's of love and willingness to come along side all of us with keys to help unlock our own prison doors in our souls and finally bring healing and freedom. The other books, Boundaries and Changes That Heal, have been such additional solid foundations. They are clear, to the point and bring such great understanding to even the whispered questions deep in your heart, that you have not even been able to put words to.Thank you from the deepest part of me! I will never see life or people the same again! All for the better understanding!

Strong start with biblical families such as David, Abraham, and Isaac family dysfunctional relationship. I appreciated David's example of a dysfunctional family because it shows what happens when problems arise and it is not dealt with. What was key, is that the whole family had issues. I think that is true with all families that are dysfunctional. It is not just one in the family, it is the whole family that needs to learn to deal with conflict. A family needs to be a place of being free to express their hurts and pain. It also needs the freedom to not be perfect. A family needs grace. Coping is usually done by isolation and not by community. Recovery comes in commuity. As the word indicates, when we confess our sins to one another, healing can begin. This was interesting and also comforting. The book gets overwhelming with all the symptoms of what creates these conditions. It ends with healing process and how Jesus is our example in the Garden of Gestame.As a christian family, church begins with the family. We need to be a family of healing, rejoicing in good and mourning with each other when one is hurt.

As someone who suffered from physical and emotional abuse and neglect as a child and adolescent, I found this book very helpful in understanding why I feel like I do and how I might recover from a rough childhood. Christians who have experienced parental abuse and neglect will find this book comforting and inspiring. It provides a frank discussion of family dysfunction without providing excuses for the perpetrators while guiding the reader toward healing and forgiveness in the context of Christian love and forgiveness.

Very good book although it looks like they have taken some helpful things/charts out of the older edition, "Secrets of Your Family Tree." The older version has 304 pages whereas the newer Unlocking Your Family Patterns has 238 pages. Still a good book though, but I prefer the older version (http://smile.amazon.com/Secrets-Your-Family-Tree-Dysfunctional/dp/0802477496/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453146702&sr=1-1&keywords=secrets+of+your+family+tree)

loved it... and hated it. It was so spot on, it hurt to read it. But the 'why' it gave to my early life has helped me make sense of the pain. It often hurts to heal. But healing is what I wanted. This book helped.

A practical Biblically based guide to work through a difficult past, or see the struggles and unique issues of those who have. As a Stephens Minister I found this work insightful and it would make a great support group workbook as it contains questions for self reflection at the end of each chapter along with specific things you can do to move forward. Highly recommend!

I loved this book. Some chapters were harder on me than others, but I needed to read them all. The Study questions at the end of each chapter were wonderful, as well. Because of my emotional response to the book, I read it all the way through first, then went back and read it a 2nd time, answering the questions the 2nd time around.

This was suggested within a different book that I was reading. I'm glad I stuck with reading the entire book. This helped me realize a lot about myself. It provided me the advice and support to change.

What this book tells you is, if you have a family issue, seek professional advice. The church communityis not qualified to solve the problems for you. You can be a burden to the christian leaders.I was expecting some new wisdom, or modern interpretations of the family history patterns in the Bible. But the chapters about biblical families are disappointingly boring. This implicitly emphasizes the major message from the authors: church leaders are poore experts on family problems.

Excellent book on family dynamics. Written in easy to understand language. Really real and practical. It also has questions help one reflects whether some patterns apply to oneself

Understanding the family pattern and seeing it in writing often helps others identify trusted groups would be a added benefit.

A helpful read

This book is great for making you pause and reflect on what may have been considered “normal” or evenHealthy”in your family dynamic, that was actually dysfunctional and harmful.