Here come the holidays, heading straight for us as sure as sure can be. This time of year is a hard one for many, especially those of us who know that our holidays are far from the ideal of the delightful sleigh ride in the snow, jingle bells jingling as we travel to grandmother’s house…
A reminiscence on mental illness in the family and on having had my mother as a mother.
I wrote this piece to offer on another site which was soliciting writing on the topic of mothers and how they shaped our lives. How do we celebrate our mothers? I wrote this piece I offer below and then realized that it wasn’t the right kind of response to that solicitation as well as being…
For of all sad words of tongue or pen, . . .
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen,The saddest are these: "It might have been!" from the poem "Maud Miller" by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) My father died in October of 1988. He died the day before…
Where are all the comments in this here blog?
If you visit here much, you’ve noticed that there are few comments. I’ve noticed that too and have given it some thought. While comments are few and far between, I do receive the occasional email. This dearth of comments is something I could get defensive about. Why so few comments? Is it a good blog…
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.
Sisters: Estrangement & Reconciliation
October has been a busy month for me. No time to read books. Although I find time to sit at the computer and read and write. It takes a conscious effort to pick up a book to read rather than go online and browse through the vast tomes of the internet. I have several books…
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…
When Parents Hurt by Joshua Coleman & related links
"When Parents Hurt" by Joshua Coleman, Ph. D.. Link to listing page on Amazon. ~ When things go wrong even when parents have done their best. Discussion of book on Amazon.com: "When Parents Hurt" by Joshua Coleman, Ph.D. Website for the book, "When Parents Hurt" "When Parents Hurt" blog I heard of this book for…
Estrangers & Estrangees: Two sides of the Fence Called Estrangement
The Problem with Discussing Estrangement Online. People who have a family estrangement tend to have experienced one of two kinds of situations: they have decided to become estranged from someone or they have become estranged due to someone else’s decision. The first group I call Estrangers. The second Estrangees.
The Pitfalls of Online Communication
This is a link to a New York Times article on the pitfalls of online communication through email. (There is some chance you might have to register with the NY Times to read it. But if you do, registration is free and the NY Times has a lot of cool stuff to read!)