When my book, Brothers, Sisters, Strangers: Sibling Estrangement and the Road to Reconciliation, was released in 2021, the editorial board at my publishing house debated whether to use the word “estrangement” in the subtitle. That word was not widely used at that time, and editors feared that potential readers would be confused and put off by the term.
Now, in just four years, the word “estrangement” is everywhere – so much so that some have called the phenomenon a kind of “Me Too” movement.
What has changed?
A new book, Forget Them Kids: Challenging the One-Sided Narrative of the Estrangement Epidemic and the Biased Therapy Trends That Fuel it, claims that two of the most prevalent factors driving the trend are the changing approaches of young therapists and the influence of internet culture.