Insight from Unexpected sources

[fox_c]

A number of the blogs that I follow focus on various aspects of law and legal thought, from The (London) Times' Law feed (essential for course work) to Opino Juris to Balkanisation and also Settle It Now, a blog on various aspects of negotiation and conflict resolution. The author has been going through a series of posts of a very personal nature, looking at conflict resolution focused on the end stages of her Dad's life and the familial interactions surrounding it, called "Negotiating Life's End". While, my family was fortunate to undergo a much more compassionate and swift (I thank God for this every day) end of my dad's earthly existence, family interactions always carry a lot of baggage and end of life issues are certainly up there on the potential stress and drama scales. This is why I've found her very personal exploration of this topic so riveting. It doesn't shy away from people's very individual flaws (including the author herself) and offers a unique and very riveting view of how certain professional skills can come into very sharp focus through a distinct personal need - and then how those skills are put into practice, personally. I would imagine that it would then also feeds the way one handles professional negotiations of a similar nature, though the author of this series hasn't really gone there yet. I've already learned tons and it has given me quite a bit of insight into how I can handle some of the very difficult interactions with family that are still in the fall out phase. The most important lesson I've gleaned so far: there are some things you just have to let go of

Anyway, I definitely suggest you give it a read. It starts here and continues in parts two, three, four, five and six and whatever others may come.

Perhaps also a good time to take the moment to remind everyone that next weekend is Father's Day, both in the US and the UK.