Books can help you find yourself—March 20, 2009
What factors determine who you will become as an adult? Psychiatrists and authors have speculated many years about the importance of personal names, birth order, upbringing, etc. Find more information from books available at the Hastings Public Library.
Everyone gets a label at birth. Does your name represent you or fit a stereotype? Thomas V. Busse cautions parents about naming a child using historical family names or “cute” creative names in his book “The Professor’s Book of First Names.” The connotations associated with a name can change during time such as the names Adolph and Judas. Busse’s book contains an analysis of how names can change in popularity during different time periods: 1898-1928-1948-1964-to date. Odd name combinations such as Firmin A. Gryp, Memory Lane, Preserved Fish, Jr., T. Hee and Warren Peace may end up in a book such as “Remarkable Names of Real People: or, How to Name Your Baby” by John Train. The Library has many helpful current personal name books such as “Baby Names Now” by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran or “What’s in a Name? Over 1500 names and their meanings” by Gayle Palmquist.
Does birth order really matter? Clifford E. Isaacson believes you are what you are because of your position in the family. He says that siblings help you learn to know what to expect from other people, what to avoid and how to get what you want in his book “The Birth Order Challenge: Expanding Your Horizons.” Kevin Leman discusses how people do not always fit the birth order mold in his book “The New Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are.” Variables such as spacing, multiple births and deaths or the birth order of the parents, parental values, and blended families can make a huge difference.
How can you raise children who take responsibility and live a happy life? Learn from “Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive” by Daniel J. Siegel and Mary Hartzell or “Happier Families: Raising Responsible, Self-managed Children” by Michael B. Medland.
Knowing yourself or helping your children understand themselves can be a real challenge. Find these and other helpful books at the Library.
