UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 37, Page 1
July 18, 1996
Ben Yagoda completes new book with Dr. Ruth

     Variety is the spice of Ben Yagoda's writing life. The UD faculty
member, who teaches journalism, has written a successful biography of
Will Rogers and magazine articles for publications ranging from the
Saturday Review and The New York Times Magazine to Playboy. Currently,
he is working with Kevin Kerrane, English, on an anthology of literary
journalism to be used as a text for journalism courses, and he is
researching a book on the history of The New Yorker magazine.
     Add to these projects that he has coauthored a series of books
with Ruth Westheimer, a well-known sex therapist, better known to a
wide TV and radio audience as Dr. Ruth. Their latest collaboration is
The Value of Family: A Blueprint for the 21st Century.
     Yagoda first met Dr. Ruth through his agent when she was seeking
an author to help her write her life story. "We met about 10 years
ago, hit it off and have been collaborating ever since, although, at
this time, we have no plans for a further book," Yagoda said.
     For her autobiography, All in a Lifetime, Yagoda used a tape
recorder, asked Dr. Ruth a few questions, and they were off and
running. When talking to some people, it's hard to get more than a
monosyllable in reply, but the opposite holds true for Dr. Ruth,
Yagoda said.
     Subsequent coauthored books were Dr. Ruth's Guide to Safer Sex
and Dr. Ruth Talks to Kids About Sex and Growing  Up.
     Dr. Ruth is qualified to write a book on families, not only
because of her professional qualifications but because of her own life
experiences, Yagoda said. An only child born to a close family in
Germany, she lost her parents and grandmother in the Holocaust and
spent World War II in a  home for German-Jewish children in
Switzerland. She moved to Israel, living in a  kibbutz, eventually
coming to the United States for a visit to an uncle and decided to
remain. She was married and divorced twice and struggled as a single
parent to raise her daughter, before remarrying and having a son. Now,
she is enthusiastically enjoying the role of grandmother, he said.
     "She looks upon all these experiences as different kinds of
family life, from the traditional nuclear family to the communal
family, where children help to raise each other. She knows firsthand
about being a single parent and about step-parenting," Yagoda said.
     Professionally, Dr. Ruth is an educator. She was teaching
education at the college level when sex education in the schools
became an important issue. Always a volunteer, Yagoda said, she agreed
to become knowledgeable about sex education, later becoming a licensed
sex therapist. A public radio station was looking for a sex therapist
for an after midnight slot, and again she volunteered, became an early
morning celebrity and found a new career.
     For The Value of Family, Yagoda and Dr. Ruth had brainstorming
sessions on what constitutes a family today and on family issues-from
teenage pregnancy and increased divorce rate to mothers in the
workplace and the role of fathers. The book is written as a first-
person narrative by Dr. Ruth, but the concepts are mutual. Yagoda did
most of the research for the book, interviewing experts, reading
background material and collecting demographic information on which
much of the book is based.
     "Today, there are many kinds of families-not just Ozzie and
Harriet and 2.3 children-and there is no turning back the clock,"
Yagoda said. "A large segment of the population consists of single,
unmarried or widowed people without children, some involved in
relationships, and then there are single parents, grandparents, step
parents, homosexual couples and teenagers raising children. These
families are under many pressures and need support, not isolation,
from society, friends and other family members."
     The last chapters of the book deal with how the government,
business and schools can help strengthen families. Economics play a
major role in family stability, according to the authors, so that job
training and opportunities, education, private and public innovative
programs are vital in helping families.
     On a local note, MBNA America's family policies and day care
facilities were described in one segment of the book and received high
marks as an example of a company that is sensitive to the needs of its
employees.
     The last chapter is entitled, "What You Can Do For Your Family,"
because as the authors point out, "ultimately, each family is on its
own." The chapter does not "contain a foolproof recipe for making your
clan loving, harmonious, loyal, steadfast and true."
     However, the authors suggest that the two "most vital qualities"
for nurturing a family are "love and commitment."
     Some of the activities for strengthening family ties include
family meals (without TV or other distractions), family vacations,
family reunions ("with plenty of food, drink and ample photo
opportunities") and using e-mail to communicate with distant
relatives.
     Returning to Ozzie and Harriet, the authors contend that the
"little white house in the suburbs where nobody dies and nobody gets
sick beyond a case of the sniffles-it's a lie. In every family, there
will be storms to be weathered. With any luck, the family will emerge
from the crisis or hard times more closely tied together than it was
before."
     A review in Publishers Weekly on June 3 calls the book "A humane,
level-headed, eye-opening look at changing family dynamics."
     A June 15 review in Kirkus Reviews calls The Value of Family a
"spirited book that packs the straightforward, common-sense punch..."
and said "this feisty work may help stiffen the spines of the
inventive men and women who are now trying to redefine the American
family."
     An informal lecture/book signing with both authors will be held
on the evening of Sept. 19 at the University Bookstore.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure