On Germany

Here, my mother's sister, Betty, (4th from left) is flanked by her German friends just before she fled Nazi Germany for America in 1937. In her writings, Betty described how she got her passport. “I was a wide-eyed fourteen-year-old, very much a country bumpkin. Everything was new and interesting. Life lay ahead of me and, if it were not for Hitler, things would have been fine. “But I knew I ...

New psychologytoday.com post: A family estrangement is traumatic, and it changes how an individual interacts.   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/node/1179330/preview

  READERS: Do you have any suggestions for Eleanor? She needs help coping with her losses. I don’t even know where to start. My brother cut ties with my mom and I in 2016, with no fight or one singular issue being the reason, except a less than ideal relationship that formed between our family and my brothers girlfriend at the time (now wife). I have no idea what happened ...

In Germany, old homes are preserved and handed down from generation to generation. After the Holocaust, homes that belonged to Jewish families in Germany were abandoned or torn down. For decades, no one wanted to live in them and face what had happened to these families. Nazis stole my mother's home in Stockstadt am Rhein, which had been in the family for over 200 years. I tell part of this ...

Another remarkable photo find in my mother's old album! This one shows Mom's sister, Betty, who took mandolin lessons with a group of boys . When the Nazis came to power, her teacher terminated her lessons. Here's how I described the experience in IS IT NIGHT OR DAY? "But now, suddenly, we were filth, Jews polluting the village. In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws cut us off completely, and after living ...

Your survey was actually very therapeutic as it helped me to think more deeply about the nature of our sibling estrangement instead of just feeling bad and anxious about it. The survey was challenging to complete. It took me several days. (Here's the link: https://fernschumerchapman.com/sibling-estrangement-survey/#gf_5) I really enjoyed your book. The use of personal anecdotes to illustrate the information you were presenting brought the information to life. Its incredible to know ...

Rosy memories and unrealistic hopes can keep a sibling in a toxic relationship. Destructive thought patterns, such as euphoric recall, future-faking, and self-gaslighting, help us avoid facing the injuries a toxic sibling inflicts.   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202208/3-ways-siblings-undermine-themselves-in-poisonous   .

I am 73 pages {also my age!) from finishing your book - "Brothers, Sisters: Strangers" and had to stop and say "thank you".... I'm spending a month in Maine, my home state, in the fall and am planning on reaching out to my oldest niece. She left me a message last spring and I just wasn't ready to respond. Your book is giving me the insight I need to be ...

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