CONFLICT - THE UNEXPECTED GIFT

At some point in your life you have engaged in conflict with another person. Conflict is a natural dimension of human interactions, but these standoffs don't need to create a lifetime of hurt and anger.

Conflict-The Unexpected Gift will help you develop conflict-resolution skills. Each chapter offers concrete steps and real-life vignettes that teach new ways of communicating. Learn how to resolve conflict and build more viable relationships with family members, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and other people with whom you interact. Conflict is an unexpected gift-an opportunity for change. A pearl starts as an irritation in an oyster. Similarly, a new openness in your relationships can be an outcome of conflict. In the course of working through your conflict, you learn to let go of unfounded assumptions and pave new chapters in your relationships. When reconciled, a conflict can be the gift of a second chance.

Jack Hamilton, Elisabeth Seaman, Sharlene Gee, and Hillary Freeman have been mediators and facilitators with Learn2Resolve, which provides mediation, facilitation, training in communication and conflict-resolution skills, and team-building workshops in English and Spanish. They work with families, corporations, nonprofits, public agencies, and individuals. They are based in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.