You might wonder, what qualifies a couple of old guys to write a book that'll mainly be used by young women and young men from all over the world.
Fair question. Here are some answers:
Moving On co-authors John W. James and Russell Friedman are the principals of The Grief Recovery Institute. One of the reasons that John and Russell are so "tuned into" women, is because back in the day, many more women than men showed up at Institute's seminars and workshops. Working with so many women over a long period of time, John and Russell were able to create the kind of emotional safety that would allow them to dig deep and be as honest as possible about themselves. Slowly over time, more and more men have been asking for help. The same elements of safety easily applied to the men who showed up, which is why Moving On contains this comment:
Sadness Is Not Gender Specific
There is much written about the role that gender plays
in relationships, but not by us. As you read this book,
you'll notice there is very little mention of gender. In
part I, when we talk about the ideas we all learned for
dealing with the painful emotions caused by relationship
endings, it will become clear to you that sadness is
not exclusive to either gender. A broken heart is a broken
heart is a broken heart.
As to why this book is accessible to young people - Even though John and Russell grew up in the olden days when there were no cell phones and no IM and no IPOD, boys were still boys and girls were still girls, and not a whole lot has changed on that score. The electronic equipment may have changed but the emotional issues are the same. Boys and girls still try to get together and they don't always get along and they break up. Peoples feelings are hurt and they don't know how to deal with them, so when they get into their next relationship, they hold back because they don't want to get hurt again. When they hold back, they sabotage the new relationship.
Old or young, male or female, everyone has to deal with the emotional baggage they accumulated in their last relationship and the ones before that. The major point of Moving On is to help people shed their baggage and be able to enter a new relationship with an open and trusting heart. The other essential pieces of this book are designed to help you choose better by teaching you how to trust your intuition and to help you establish what qualities are most important for you in the person you would spend your life with.
John W. James
John W. James is the founder of The Grief Recovery Institute, The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, Inc., The Grief Recovery Educational Society Ltd. of Canada, and The Institute for Grief Recovery of Sweden. He is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authorities on grief in the world today.
John is co-author of the new book MOVING ON – Dump Your Relationship Baggage and Make Room For the Love of Your Life [M. Evans, October, 2006]. With the divorce rate hovering at 50% and the romantic relationship break-up rate running exponentially higher, this book is destined to become the most helpful book available to guide people in completing their romantic past so they don't sabotage their relationship future.
John is also co-author of THE GRIEF RECOVERY HANDBOOK - The Action Program For Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses - [HarperCollins, 1998]. The Handbook, translated into many languages, is "the definitive text on recovery from loss." It is used as the authoritative text on the subject of recovery from loss in countless colleges, and universities throughout the world; and WHEN CHILDREN GRIEVE - For Adults to Help Children Deal with Death, Divorce, Pet Loss, Moving, and Other Losses - [HarperCollins, 2001]. It has been called the most important book written in the last generation and is fast becoming the bible for parents, grandparents, teachers and others who normally interact with children.
John lectures and moderates programs for Delaware State University, The University of San Diego Medical School, Chapman University, Kings College (London, England) The University of California at Irvine, The University of California at Los Angeles, The Compassionate Friends, The National AIDS Network, APLA, GMHC, Theos, the State of Ohio Department of Health, the National SIDS Foundation, LAPD, and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. John is an authorized Defense Department Contractor assisting in the creation and delivery of reintegration programs for returning war veterans. He also delivers educational programs and does consultations for Daimler-Chrysler, MCA Universal Studios, Texaco Oil, and Toyota, to name only a few of the major companies in industry who are learning that unresolved grief has a negative impact in the work place.
John is a Viet Nam veteran, a member of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the West, and is in constant demand as a featured speaker for conferences, conventions, radio, and television programs. He is married to two time Emmy Award winning daytime television actress Jess Walton. Jess plays the continuing character of "Jill Foster Abbott" on the number one worldwide daytime television series, "The Young and The Restless." They have two children, Allison (31) and Cole(25).
RUSSELL P. FRIEDMAN
Russell P. Friedman is Executive Director of The Grief Recovery Institute Educational Foundation, Inc. Russell has appeared as the grief expert on CNN many times. Of special note were: an appearance on Saturday September 15, 2001, in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy; again in April of 2002, after Andrea Yates drowned her 5 children in Houston; and in June of 2004, during the funeral proceedings for President Ronald Reagan. In April, 2005, he was featured on The Today Show with Matt Lauer, as an expert on helping parents guide their children in dealing with losses of all kinds.
Russell is co-author of the new book MOVING ON – Dump Your Relationship Baggage and Make Room For the Love of Your Life [M. Evans, October, 2006]. With the divorce rate hovering at 50% and the romantic relationship break-up rate running exponentially higher, this book is destined to become the most helpful book available to guide people in completing their romantic past so they don't sabotage their relationship future.
Russell is also co-author of THE GRIEF RECOVERY HANDBOOK - The Action Program For Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses - [HarperCollins, 1998]. The Handbook, translated into many languages, is "the definitive text on recovery from loss." It is used as the authoritative text on the subject of recovery from loss in countless colleges, and universities throughout the world; and WHEN CHILDREN GRIEVE - For Adults to Help Children Deal with Death, Divorce, Pet Loss, Moving, and Other Losses - [HarperCollins, 2001]. It has been called the most important book written in the last generation and is fast becoming the bible for parents, grandparents, teachers and others who normally interact with children.
Along with founding partner John W. James, Russell has pioneered the formation of several thousand Grief Recovery Outreach Programs throughout the United States and Canada. The 12 week program has helped more than 350,000 grieving people deal with the losses that have affected their lives. John and Russell have recently introduced a new program called, Helping Children Deal With Loss, which uses When Children Grieve as the basic text for a 6 week program aimed at teaching parents, guardians, and other adults how to guide grieving children.
Russell has consulted for the Funeral and Cemetery industry, University Programs for Sociological, Psychological, and Medical Education, all Denomination of Clergy, and a wide range of Social Service Organizations. Russell is a graduate of Rollins college, Winter Park, Florida. He is featured in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the West. Russell is a frequent speaker and presenter at conferences and conventions, as well as a featured guest for radio, television, and print interviews.