The sibling bond

by Stephen P. Bank

The relationships among brothers and sisters are infinitely varied - a sibling can be one's worst enemy or closest companion. Though their love or hate, envy or compassion, and closeness or rivalry are formed in childhood, these bonds last throughout life, creating character and affecting behavior in numerous situations. Strangely, this profound attachment - second only to the parent-child bond - was rarely studied or understood until recently, perhaps because the feelings siblings have about each other are usually both intense and secret. Bank and Kahn chart this unknown territory, offering a theory of the ways in which siblings attach, create each other's identities, and affect the course of each other's lives. Illustrated with poignant portraits of brothers and sisters in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, this book provides a profound understanding of these complex and enduring relationships, examining the influence of childhood intimacy, parental behavior, family turmoil, birt