Synopsis

In his first book for adults, the award- winning, New York Timesbestselling author (whose books have sold more than 315,000 copies)sparks honest dialogues about the crisis in African-Americanrelationships.

Only 34 percent of African- American childrentoday are raised in two-parent households, a sharp contrast to 1966,when 85 percent of black children were raised by two parents. Inprovocative but heartfelt words, Hill Harper takes on these urgentchallenges, bringing a variety of issues out of the shadows. In The Conversation, Harper speaks to women and men with clear-eyed perspective, covering topics such as:

• The roots of the breakdown in the black family
• The myth that there are no mature, single, black male professionals
• What women can do to alleviate the "heaviness" they sometimes attach to dating
• What men can do to break the cycle of being a player
• The difference between sex and intimacy
• Bridging the communication gap
• Self-worth and net worth, and why you should never settle for an unworthy partner

"Harper -- The research I did for the book was all about talking to manypeople from all different walks of life to explore how we are or arenot communicating as men and women."

The idea for 'The Conversation,' which includes stories from couplesin all stages of relationships -- from new love to 50-year-longmarriages -- came from the Iowa native's travels while promoting hisprevious books.

"While traveling the country on book tours and speaking engagements,I meet all sorts of people. ...Many of them trust me and feelcomfortable enough to share their feelings and personal experiences,"he said. "It made me want to explore both the reasons for the poorstate of our men-women relationships and solutions for making thembetter."