City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Rules of estrangement, why adult children cut ties and how to heal the conflict, Joshua Coleman

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Rules of estrangement

Joshua Coleman

why adult children cut ties and how to heal the conflict

Has your adult child cut off contact with you? How can you heal the pain and start to build a bridge back to them? Labelled a silent epidemic by a growing number of therapists and researchers, estrangement is one of the most disorienting and painful experiences of a parent's life. Popular opinion typically tells a one-sided story of parents who got what they deserved or overly entitled adult children who wrongly blame their parents. However, the reasons for alienation are far more complex and varied. As a result of rising rates of individualism, an increasing cultural emphasis on happiness, growing economic insecurity, and a historically recent perception that parents are obstacles to personal growth, many parents find themselves forever shut out of the lives of their adult children and grandchildren. As a trusted psychologist whose own daughter cut off contact for several years and eventually reconciled, Dr Joshua Coleman is uniquely qualified to guide parents in navigating these fraught interactions. He helps to alleviate the ongoing feelings of shame, hurt, guilt, and sorrow that commonly attend these dynamics. By placing estrangement into a cultural context, Dr Coleman helps

Can I save the relationship with my estranged child? -- The many pathways to estrangement -- Married, divorced, estranged -- Dealing with mental illness and addiction -- Psycholtherapy and the curated childhood: "My therapist says you're a narcissist" -- Flashpoints: Gender identity, sexuality, religion, politics, and personality clashes -- Sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and the cult of one -- When siblings estrange: The impact on their lives and those around them -- The rules of money and estrangement: Should I cut my child out of my will? -- Abandoned grandparents and the weaponizing of grandchildren -- Coping strategies: Interventions, and your new normal -- The adult child's perspective: New rules for parent-adult child reconciliation -- How do I heal the pain of estrangement?