Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family

Al Gore is the former Vice President of the United States and author of the New York Times bestseller Earth in the Balance. During twenty-five years of public service, he has made the family a priority by fighting for programs and policies that are responsive to the needs of families and communities.

Tipper Gore has served as advisor to the President on Mental Health Policy and was special advisor to the Interagency Council on the Homeless during her husband;s years in the White House. She worked as a photojournalist for the Tennessean; Picture This, a collection of her photographs was published in 1996. Her first book, Raising PG Kids in an X-rated Society, was published in 1987.

Together, the Gores have organized an annual two-day forum called "Family Re-Union," now in its eleventh year. They have four children and two grand-children, and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Read by the authors.

The Gores share their views on the changing American family. The couple introduces their own and several other families who represent a range of lifestyles, including single-parent households, blended families, and gay couples. While the former vice president is decidedly more articulate and expressive than Mrs. Gore, she holds her own as the pair alternate the reading of their work. Asserting the view that a family is any group that is "joined at the heart," the Gores discuss the hardships faced in family life and lobby for more corporate and government support of marriage and parenting. J.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine