The subject of this book - families in American society - is inherently interesting because each of us is part of a family and more than nine out of ten of us will form families of our own. Families interest us because familial relationships are built on the compelling and mysterious feelings of intimacy, sexuality, and love. Families fascinate us because they also may involve a dark side of domination, trauma, and conflict. Families absorb our attention, too, because they are at once private and public. They are private places of refuge yet they are often at the center of political and public controversy. And, at a very personal level, families are crucial of who we are and what our opportunities have been and will be.