"This book will be helpful not only to members and students in Avanta Network and those acquainted with my work, but to all those seeking new dimensions to their lives. It is an important first step. It generously and authentically documents the general method, process and outcomes of five reconstructions, one in great detail....I feel pleased and honored that I have been a midwife to what is turning out to be a very important contribution in developing guidelines toward becoming more fully human."--Virginia Satir
About me, Bill Nerin
I was born in Indianapolis, IN in 1926. In 1951, I was ordained a Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Oklahoma till 1975. In 1965 I received my M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in Marriage and Family Life. I became a Family therapist and associate of Virginia Satir, one of the early pioneers in family therapy. I have been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Oklahoma in the Human Relations Department since 1977. In 1986 I wrote Family Reconstruction: Long Day's Journey Into Light, W.W. Norton and my second book, You Can't Grow Up Till You Go Back Home; A Safe Journey To See Your Parents As Human in 1993.
Both books attempt to explain an ingenious process developed by Satir, utilizing role players, that helps a person understand emotionally how one's parents were raised and lived up to the time of their marriage. It has produced amazing results for those engaged in this process, empowering them to take greater charge of their own adult lives enabling them to grow in love and feel better about themselves. I wrote the second book for the average person, whereas the first was for my students.
In 1982, I married Anne Robertson, herself a clinical psychologist and family therapist. After 23 years of a wonderful life, my wife, Anne, died from melanoma. I kept a journal of my life from the discovery of the cancer through Anne's death and my grieving thereafter. This part of my inner life is found in my new book A Couple Faces Death: My Life After Anne: Growing in Acceptance and Peace. It is filled with poignant entries from my journal telling a story of love in the process of dying. It also contains a DVD of Anne speaking to a graduate class of university students. I must say that in the 10 months of Anne's journey to her last breath, our love transcended anything we had ever experienced. It is a short book, 140 pages, and some of those who have read it said that once started they could not put it down. It is my hope that this story will be of help to many who read it.
