I'm very impressed with this book and anticipate that it will have a positive impact on the culture of my young family. I purchased the book after having a discussion with my husband about family mission statements. Our son was a year old at the time, and we felt compelled to approach our young family with deliberateness and intentionality. Every other endeavor in our lives had come after research, or it came with instructions. We feared that if we just free-styled family life then in thirty years we'd be left with regret and wondering how the hell we got there. Perhaps we'd also have a few good reports that things had "turned out" okay, but accidental results aren't always good.

This book has excellent principles which when put to use will empower a family to operate as a body (where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, kind of thing), and have the strength to weather all the unexpected problems it will no doubt face. I've underlined a lot on the pages, and am excited for my husband to read it, too. Mostly I'm excited for when we sit down and write our Family Mission Statement which will determine the culture in which our children live.

My only complaint is that this book isn't good "literature". It's very, very long winded. Each chapter is enormous. The author has so many ways of restating a single point, that the chapters feel repetitive, too. But think of his book as more of a reference and you'll do fine. I intend to return to it over the years as challenges arise. In fact, it even has a topical index for just such a purpose.