MSI Press Blog

  Some families live with anger the way fish live in water — so surrounded by it that no one even notices it anymore. The raised voices, the sharp tones, the slammed doors, the long silences, the brittle edges… they become the emotional wallpaper of the home. But anger is rarely the real problem. It is almost always the signal of something deeper. If we want to heal angry families — including our own — we must learn to read the signal instead of reacting to the noise. Anger is a secondary emotion. The real story is underneath. In families, anger often hides: fear shame exhaustion grief insecurity unmet needs feeling unheard or unseen Children express these emotions with outbursts. Adults express them with irritation, sarcasm, withdrawal, or control. When we treat the anger as the problem, we miss the wound beneath it. The Four Hidden Sources of Family Anger 1. Fear of losing control Parents fear losing authority. Children fear losing autonomy. Partners fear losing stability. Fear...

  Today's Publisher's Pride is  Good Blood  by Irit Schaffer, which recently reached #238 on Amazon in theater biographies. Book Description: When she was a child, her father said he had "good blood" and that is why he and his wife survived and healed from the Holocaust. The author searched for the meaning and significance of her father's words over two continents and through four generations. Her journey uncovered a unique voice of wisdom revealing mysteries of the healing powers within us and the existence of light in every situation that helps us overcome and transcend any obstacle. This book is a quest into the depth of the human spirit. It is a rich family memoir, being deeply personal, sharing joy and pain and fear and forgiveness. It encompasses the themes of life and a topic in common with every reader: complicated family relationships. Keywords: Holocaust survival memoir;  Family healing journey;  Intergenerational trauma healing;  Holocaust family...

  Today's shared blog post comes from Elizabeth Mahlou, author of A Believer-in-Waiting's First Encounters with God and Blest Atheist :   My cooking is well known -- for how bad it is. In fact, the topic figured prominently in Doah's book,  Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest . My mother gave up on teaching me to cook years ago, saying that it was too expensive because I ruined so much of what I touched. My kids quickly learned that it was better to have Donnie do the cooking, and I could almost always get them to do whatever I asked by threatening to cook. There is, however, one thing I can cook well: ham. So, for this new year's New Year dinner, I made a ham. Now, we usually go out to dinner on special occasions since it really is only Donnie, Doah, and I. However, this year, it was rainy and cold and seemed perfect for a ham dinner and fire in the fireplace. Doah was not so certain, however. Right after that, he ran hollering to Donnie, "Come quick! Mom's cookin...

  Over the past week, Irit Schaffer, author of Good Blood, Second Edition , has been sharing family photos to help readers get a feel for the people in the memoir. Here she shares a photograph of her Aunt Elli, who is featured in the book, writing -  " Here is a photo of my Great Aunt Elli and myself in Kosice. She is 88 years old in the photo. Ice cream was a rare delicacy for her. She was the one who shared with me that the greatest gift of life is the gift of love. She shared how the Nazis knew nothing about love and what is important in life, and it was why she was able to forgive the Nazis. She was the closest person to an angel that I knew. She was filled with so much light and love. " Book description: When she was a child, her father said he had "good blood" and that is why he and his wife survived and healed from the Holocaust. The author searched for the meaning and significance of her father's words over two continents and through four generations. He...