This session, recorded in 1986 by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and digitally remastered in 2009, features Carl Whitaker conducting a live, unedited therapy session with a family. The featured family includes a grandmother, mother and two preadolescent sons. The women are recent widows and the boys were abused by their deceased alcoholic father. Through pushing and then drawing the family in, intergenerational rules that hypnotize people to act in destructive ways are searched out. Themes of suicidal behavior, depression, unresolved grief and obesity become apparent as the family is challenged to deal with issues in a healthier fashion.