Richard Eyre - The Turning: Why the State of the Family Matters, and What the World Can Do About it

Mounting Praise for The Turning

Richard and Linda Eyre have spent their lives working with families, one at a time and in groups, in all of their complexity. Great science simplifies. It proposes not the many things that are correlated to the outcome of interestinstead, it shows us the cause. That is why this book is so important.

From the Foreword by Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor and bestselling author of The Innovators Dilemma and other trend-setting management books

Individuals are not the basic unit of our economy; households are. Families are far from perfect institutions, but they are the best economic engine civilization has ever produced. When families decline and weaken, the whole economy is sure to do the same. Richard and Linda Eyre make these family-to-economy connections crystal clear and point us in the directions of recovery.

Nolan and Margaret Archibald, Retired Chairman and CEO of Black & Decker Corporation

There are a lot of important things in liferanging from our work to our golf games and from our faith to our politics. For most of us, though, nothing is more important than families. In The Turning , Linda and Richard Eyre give us solid tips for making our family cultures stronger than all the other cultures that swirl around our kids. And they also have the moxie to urge these other cultures to do more to help and strengthen families.

Johnny and Linda Miller, professional golfer and commentator, parents of six and grandparents of twenty-two

The Eyres are rightwhen families become stronger and more stable, both individual businesses and the whole economy benefit. Count me in for a movement to get all of our institutions to pay more attention to the needs of families.

Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO of Marriott Corporation

The Turning reveals Americas, indeed the worlds, blind spot which is preventing progress and prosperity. This blind spot is the centrality of family to the human experience. In The Turning , Richard and Linda Eyre carefully and thoroughly remove societys cataract covering the family. As they have for forty years, the Eyres open our eyes to the obvious: family is the fundamental unit of society.

Paul Mero, President of Sutherland Institute and Administrator, World Congress of Families 2015

More than ever before, our world needs deliberate, effective parents. And in order to be effective, we need (1) help and support from our village of schools, churches, neighborhoods and communities, and (2) family systems and traditions that help teach our children responsibility and ownership that will help them become contributing adults. This book advocates the first and provides a great framework for formulating the second within each of our own unique families.

Shawni Pothier, 2013 National Mother of the Year and Founder of 71toes.com

Developing countries and post-communist nations all over the world are copying the mistakes of Americaputting ideas of materialism, entitlement, and selfish personal options ahead of responsibility and commitment to family. It is classic short-range thinking that will let us all downindividuals and countriesin our later years. I see The Turning as a warning, and one we had all better heed!

Przemek Gacek, CEO of Grupa Pracuj SA (Poland) and YPO Regional Officer, Europe CEO

Just as In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto opened our eyes to the undesirable effects of an industrialized food chain, and Disrupting Class gave us hope for reigniting the curiosity lost to the industrialized classroom, The Turning illuminates the negative influences of industrialization upon the ultimate institutionour familieswhile providing parents with the power to do something about it!

Adam Timothy, Young Entrepreneur and father of three

The biggest problems of todays world are not caused by economics. Rather, they stem from a seismic shift of demographics and priorities. The Turning , more clearly than any other writing I have read, sorts out these shifts and suggests not how we can reverse them but how we can turn them onto positive paths as parents make their family culture stronger than all competing cultures.

Santiago Sanchez Reynoso, CEO of COA Internacional (Columbia) and Chair of the International Family Committee, Young Presidents Association

The Eyres urge enlightened religious, educational, business, and government leaderswho disagree about many thingsto at least agree about this: institutional policies should bolster life-long trust and responsibility between caring children, parents, and grandparents.

C. Randall Paul, President of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy

Moms will love this book because it recognizes their pivotal role and gives practical ideas for their own families. I hope that policy makers in the public and private sectors will also read it and understand that the support of parents and families is critical to the long-term vitality of the companies and governments they represent. Strong families need to be nurtured and supported from the inside out and from the outside in.

Saren Loosli, Co-Founder of PowerOfMoms.com

There have been a number of books in recent years documenting what is happening to marriages and families these days. The difference here is that the Eyres go beyond just documenting the trends by suggesting specific steps that different societal stakeholders can take to actually do something about it.

Jason S. Carroll, PhD, Family Life Specialist and author of Sexual Wholeness in Marriage

Schools need to focus on their critical role of providing support and back-up for parents in the all-important task of raising the next generation. And this is one of the many things that the Eyres get right in their landmark book, The Turning .

Ken Peterson, President of Peterson International Schools of Mexico

For the high level group of entrepreneurs I interact with, were always looking for thoughtful and proven solutions to parenting. The Eyres have a distinctive way of providing real solutions to significant issues facing twenty-first-century families. This material can be a real turning point and rallying cry for intentional leaders raising impactful children and even the institutions we entrust with this critical role.

Yanik Silver, Founder of Maverick1000

The largest threat to modern society is the dissolution of the family, and this is a disease for which Richard and Linda Eyre have a cure. The Turning comes at a crucial time for kids and parents everywhere. As someone who focuses on social media, I can tell you that the our society is getting better and better at creating content, but this book contains true knowledge that can help change the way parents look at their most important job, that of raising a family prepared to take on all the challenges society throws at them. Every parent today needs to read this book.

Adrian Dayton, Founder of ClearView Social, named the #1 social media consultant in the legal industry by the National Law Journal

The Family should not be a wedge issue. Family is not a word owned by one end of the political spectrum. Regardless of political or religious affiliation, we should all be concerned about what is happening to the traditional family and its resultant impact on childrens well-being, repeated cycles of inner-generational poverty, and overall community stability. The Turning is well conceived and smartly written. Richard and Linda Eyre bring a wealth of insight and expertise on this important topic.

Clark Gilbert, Publisher and CEO of Deseret News