Ranjan Roy

20th Century witnessed, what can only be described as revolutionary changes in our living arrangements. Somewhere in the later half of the last century the nuclear family lost its primacy and was supplanted by a whole range of alternative family types. This book purports to explore some of those changes and what kind of living arrangements exist in the Western World. A related issue that we examine centers on the kind of problems encountered by these families and if family therapy has kept pace with the new and emerging families.  Many of the contemporary families are so novel that they never did exist in human history. Assisted reproductive families could be a prime example of that. Gay and lesbian families would be another example. It was beyond our comprehension not so long ago that gay and lesbian couples would gain the right to marry, adopt children and live as our neighbors and friends. “It should be noted, however, that marriage for gay and lesbian couples is legal in a handful of countries and remains controversial in many parts of the world. Another emerging phenomena is the choice by an increasing number of people to remain single. In a wonderful article in New York Times (February 5, 2012) Eric Klinenberg noted that living alone did not necessarily isolate people but all signs are that this will become more common in the future. In Sweden, a full 47% of the households has only one occupant. In the United States that figure stands at 27%.