Couplings and groupings

A great many generalizations have been made about the changing nature of personal relationships in America: the nuclear family is on the decline; work and sex roles are being transformed; marriage doesn't work; monogamy is obsolete. But none of these generalizations has been tested against people's real experiences in relating to each other. Megan Terry set out to discover if and how the rhetoric about changing social patterns was affecting people's private lives. She interviewed an extraordinarily broad cross section of American , young, old rich, poor, singles, couples, groups, nun, priests, communards, heterosexuals, homosexuals, strangers, lovers, brothers, and friends. Her skills as a dramatist and her natural interest in people elicited responses that are refreshingly frank.