Friedman's Fables (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Ed Friedman, with humor, wisdom, and a devious mind, has created a series of fables that highlight the classic dilemmas and struggles of relationships. His characters haunt the reader long after the stories are over and inflict insight better than any formal interpretation ever could. These parables make great lessons and great reading for those caught in the web of trying to change another person or themselves.

Review

"The book had an unexpected effect. I found myself more creative in the therapy sessions that followed, almost as if I had been granted some internal form of permission to co-create a story alongside the stuck stories of so many of my clients....The stories...had, in effect, stimulated my own story-telling ability." --AFTA Newsletter -- Review

Teaching by parable has an old and honorable tradition. Ed Friedman, beloved rabbi and noted family therapist, is a great modern master of the art. Friedman's Fables is a delight, of course. These stories are funny, but they are also profound, provocative, even shocking, as they present crucial truths of systemic thinking, vital lessons of family therapy and family life, and a slyly modern, hard-nosed re-evaluation of the wisdom of the ages. Friedman is using these stories to punctuate his lessons, lessons to therapists and to anyone else who expects to deal with people, lessons about human relationships, human suffering, and human integrity. -- Frank Pittman, M.D.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 213 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (September 28, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898624401
• ISBN-13: 978-0898624403
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storytelling in the classic tradition, June 22, 2000

By	Israel Galindo (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

More parables than fables, Friedman's genius as a storyteller in the rabbinic tradition shines through. This collection of short fables are ingenious studies of human nature from a Family Systems point of view. Though the book has many uses for teaching and therapy, its best use is pure enjoyment!

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I have used these fables with recovering addicts., October 24, 1998

By A Customer

I took a leap with the idea that the fable of "The Bridge" would be a helpful teaching tool for my group of recovering alcoholics and addicts. They listened attentively to the story of the man handing a stranger the end of the rope and then jumping. Many of them could relate to the feelings of being stuck and with the moral and ethical dilemma of having to make a critical decision. I plan to use other fables from the collection after such a lively discussion. Never underestimate the abilities of people in recovery to benefit from meaningful dialogue.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review by Rabbi G. Lilienthal, Ph.D., June 8, 2005

By	Dr. G. Lilienthal - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Friedman's Fables are a resonant statement by a very quiet man. Ed Friedman was that quiet man. He constructed a modern use for the ancient form of allegory, first used in King Solomon's written works, to drive home difficult-to-accept truths and ethical principles, in a group setting. His "fables" are the outcome of his many years of psychoanalytic work in very large congregational groups, and in my view, are a work of genius. Each fable deals with a different aspect of the group unconscious, and facilitates a ready demonstration of the inevitable group acting out that results from the return of the repressed.