Is It Night Or Day?

Last week, my 97-year-old mother found a remarkable photograph in an old album! It captures the group of unaccompanied minors she traveled with from Germany to America in March, 1938. Taken on the ship, my mother is in the bottom row, hands on her head to stop the sharp winds from blowing her hair in her face. Right next to her is her best friend on the ship, Gerda Katz. ...

Some relationships are too toxic to sustain, but cutoffs may hurt well-being. The estranged often suffer a loss of self-esteem and trust, which may play out in other relationships and ultimately compromise well-being. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202208/five-ways-estrangement-does-lifelong-damage

  The estranged feel judged by a culture that expects family cohesion. Many view a cutoff as a personal failing. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202207/the-stigma-sibling-estrangement?fbclid=IwAR2cNF6t5tHgxiTqpKdshtzyigXB4htDFgrcwApSJTWZVvvIcRgnnYnhFzo

Last night, I had the great thrill of checking out one of my own books to a bookmobile patron!

New edition of IS IT NIGHT OR DAY? with new cover and new Author's note. My mother's story of childhood immigration is more relevant than ever, as parents in our war-torn world are forced to rip their families apart and send their children away to safety. In the 1930s and 40s, Lutherans, Quakers, and Jewish groups organized a program that used cruise ships to rescue Jewish children in Nazi-occupied countries. ...

The pandemic has loosened family ties and changed who attends holiday events.   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202207/how-the-pandemic-has-altered-the-definition-family

In cases of abuse and violence, cutoffs can be necessary and protective. However, in other families long-standing estrangements may become an acceptable model of coping with stress, replicated generation after generation. In these families, when conflict arises, siblings may easily cut each other off, having seen their parents do just that with their own brothers or sisters. Latest psychologytoday.com post: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202206/how-estrangement-can-echo-through-generations

Some say the royal rift between Prince William and Prince Harry was on display earlier this month at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as the two couples refused to be together and appeared not to make eye contact. Can they reconnect? (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202206/can-prince-harry-and-prince-william-reconcile

Latest psychologytoday.com post: Many estranged siblings realize over time that a brother’s or sister’s narcissistic tendencies are the underlying cause of their toxic relationship. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202206/is-narcissistic-sibling-the-reason-your-estrangement photo: Rodnae Productions/Pexels  

One of the most plaguing consequences of sibling estrangement is the thought pattern of rumination: rehashing the same thoughts, over and over, even when those thoughts breed sadness or negativity. Many rejected siblings – and even some who chose to terminate the relationship -- find themselves constantly mulling over, “What did I do? What was my role in the cutoff? Can I fix this?” Here are a few ways to ...