No friend like a sister : exploring the relationships between sisters
"The relationships between sisters are little documented and, as a consequence, can be an invisible area of women's lives. Traditional models for analysis of family relationships have largely neglected the sister bond, defining sisterly affection purely in terms of obligation and expectation. No Friend Like a Sister begins with the premise that we need a new method of approaching and exploring the sister relationship." "The study began with a series of in-depth discussions with several small groups of women, each with at least one sister. This was then followed up with individual interviews with 48 women, ranging in age from 20 to 91 years. These interviews encompassed both the highs and the lows of the relationship and spanned a wide range of issues, from the death of a parent to the expectations of mutuality and reciprocity; from facing the repercussions of sexual abuse to issues of communication and contact." "No Friend Like a Sister uses this material to explore the characteristics of the sister relationship, to ask what sets it apart from friendship and from other family relationships. Why is it that, even in a painful or negative relationship, this bond will so rarely be completely severed? The discussions and interviews offer a rich and often moving resource of opinion information and experience, and ultimately a valuable insight into the unique relationship between sisters. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET
Print Book, English, 2004
Victoria University Press, Wellington [N.Z.], 2004
176 p. ; 21 cm.
9780864734709, 0864734700
59360415
Portraits of sisters
Reciprocity and support
The down side
Intimacy
Difference
Other close relationships
Demographics
"The study began with a series of in-depth discussions with several small groups of women, each with at least one sister. This was then followed up with individual interviews with 48 women, ranging in age from 20 to 91 years"--Back cover