The Gobnik siblings, Alison and Adam wrote a delightful and clever review of Jeffery Kluger’s The Sibling Effect (9/25). It was published in the New York Times, Sunday, September 25, 2011. 

As a marriage and family therapist with a specialization in adult siblings, I decided to write a letter to the Editor about the review. 

I assured the Gobniks that there is much more to being siblings than Kluger addressed.  I went on with, “One of the more significant, and perhaps humorous, aspects is that siblings’ early experiences become a laboratory for future adult relationships.  In fact, they have been dubbed as a “first marriage” because that is when siblings first learn (or don’t learn) about sharing, fighting, loving, negotiating, using their personal power when they are less powerful than the other.”

And, to my surprised (and pleasure), the letter was accepted and will be published in the Sunday Book Review section on Oct 16.

My point of the childhood sibling relationship being a “first marriage,” is one part of what I’ll be discussing in my upcoming (free) teleseminar, on Wednesday, October 19, at 8 pm (east coast time).  Would love to have you join us.  Click here for more info and to register.