Some online discussion groups have been offered on sites set up by the authors of books on the subject. Some online groups are public and anyone can read and write on the site. Others require people to become members using an email address or user name and a password but letting almost anyone join. Occasionally…
For Parents
Support Groups for those coping with a family estrangement. Part I
A mother in pain over not having had any contact with her recently estranged son joined an online support group. She talked about her feelings and how grateful she was to find the group and how rare it is for a grown child to estrange themselves from their parents. I tried to say that I…
Morning Meditation in Panera Bread
I took myself out to Panera Bread this morning for a soufflé. I like their charming little soufflés with the browned top and the creamy inside, hot and a bit richer than what I should eat but oh so delicious! I needed a treat. Their coffee is passable but too acidic for my taste. I…
Moving on. Detaching. Letting go. Damn the Torpedos!
"Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!" I like to choose the right words when I am writing. If the words are not the right ones, then the message that I want to communicate isn’t clear or is inaccurate. In my previous post I said that I would write next about "moving on." As I thought…
When someone you care about thinks you suck.
Since 2006 my daughter has had a blog called my-family-sucks. I have not been reading her blog because I know that she uses it to denigrate me and others who have loved her.
Q&A: Tips for handling Mother’s Day while being estranged?
This morning I received an email from a woman who is a mother and who has been estranged by her grown children several times over 15 years. After describing the basics of the estrangement she said, "I need to move on with my life – any tips – and any help for handling Mothers Day?"…
Dr. Joshua Coleman on NBC’s Today Show, Friday, Dec. 21, 2007
Dr. Joshua Coleman, family therapist and author of When Parents Hurt will be appearing on NBC’s Today Show on Friday, December 21, 2007 in the 8 o’clock hour. Followup note: I watched the segment (video link here). Call me a curmudgeon if you must but I was disappointed that the Today Show didn’t give this…
Reconciliation: An opportunity to be surprised and impressed.
In recent months several friends and acquaintances have been reporting either reconciliations or communications from relatives that may lead to a full reconciliation. I have been delighted for them. Some have reconciled even though they had been assaulted physically by the relative who estranged them. Some had experienced verbal abuse. In each case they were…
When do we stop talking and get on with our lives?
My mother had estranged herself from me from 1978 to 1981. My estrangement from my daughter began in 1995. The current estrangement from my mother began in 2002 at my initiative. I created the website, Estrangements.com, in 2001. I’ve been reading, writing, thinking, researching, and talking about family estrangement since 1995.
Texas organization: Healing Estranged Relationships (H.E.R.)
This link is to an organization in Texas that offers support groups to those who are estranged. It sounds as though the groups meet in Texas only so far but that their long term goals may be to branch out to other locations.H.E.R. Group Their email address on their site which wasn’t working earlier has…