How do you hold on to what you love without pushing people away?
Father Pishoy, a Coptic Orthodox priest and registered psychotherapist spent two decades inside that question. This is what he found.
What This Book Is About
A resource for couples, families, clergy, and therapists working with intercultural and interracial marriages, written from inside the Coptic and broader immigrant community.
It’s not just about race.
The real challenges are culture, language, family expectations, and two different ideas of what loyalty means. When couples don’t talk about these differences openly, every hard conversation turns into an argument about “respect” or “honour,” and nobody agrees on what those words actually mean.
When families push back, it’s usually fear, not prejudice.
They’re often afraid of losing something: a language, a tradition, or the memory of what their own parents gave up. This book talks about that fear honestly, and asks what becomes possible when communities hold on to what matters without forcing loved ones to choose.
These marriages can work.
Research backs it up. Couples who do well share a few things in common: honest conversations early, real respect for both backgrounds, shared faith and meaning, and communities that support instead of judge. When Two Worlds Meet shows what that looks like.
Who This Is For
- Couples navigating two family worlds, or two different ideas of what marriage should look like
- Families trying to understand why the person their child loves feels like a threat, and how to stay close without losing the relationship
- Therapists and counsellors working with Coptic, Arabic-speaking, or immigrant families
- Priests and pastoral care providers supporting couples the Church hasn’t always known how to help
- Community and ministry leaders looking for language and tools for these relationships in their congregations
About Father Pishoy
Father Pishoy Wasfy, PhD, DCP, is a Coptic Orthodox priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius in Mississauga, a registered psychotherapist, and Clinical Director at Cornerstone Family Counselling Services. He earned the 2025 CES Doctoral Dissemination Award from the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association for his doctoral research, and has spent over two decades working with couples in both church and counselling settings. When Two Worlds Meet is what that work made possible.
Father Pishoy leads Cornerstone’s practicum and supervision programs, training new therapists to work with families from different cultures and backgrounds in Peel Region. Learn more about Father Pishoy.
Also available for bulk orders for churches, ministries, or training programs. Contact us at [email protected].
Cornerstone has released a full announcement about the book, including how it connects to our work with newcomer and immigrant families in Peel Region. Read the full press release on EIN Presswire.
For interview requests or additional information, please contact Anjay Nirula at Cornerstone Family Counselling Services, [email protected] or 905.214.7363