estrangement

How to Explain Family Estrangement to Your Children

New psychologytoday.com blog post: When relatives cut ties, children suffer. Here's how to help them understand. KEY POINTS One in four Americans are estranged from a close family member, according to a national survey. Children, who have no control over family relations, can be devastated by family losses due to estrangements. When children witness a cutoff, they often fear their parents might abandon them; they may need reassurance.

A bribe and a card game save a life!

Last month, I went to my cousin’s house to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Our mothers are sisters who came to the United States from Nazi Germany as unaccompanied minors, a year apart, via a little-known American program, The One Thousand Children. Aunt Betty married another Holocaust refugee, Uncle Walter, who brought us his own amazing family story. When I entered my cousin’s living room, he pointed out an eye-popping painting ...

FSC featured on “They’re Driving Me Nuts” podcast

Dr. Linda Austin discusses sibling estrangement with FSC:   https://www.theyredrivingmenuts.com/sibling-estrangement/

How Photos and Social Media Posts Wound Distanced Family Members

What to do with old photos and social media accounts when there's no contact. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202306/how-photos-and-social-media-posts-wound-distanced-family?fbclid=IwAR2X6XEB653TchDCm_fA-9Vwrp4Liu-S5ShjBbsATvV1Yzkj0gSMWNZHZXo

Choosing No Contact With a Toxic Family Member?

Going no contact is a decisive step taken to end physical, psychological, or emotional suffering at the hands of an abusive sibling or other family member. As a tactic to protect oneself from continual hurt, it is generally the last resort. Photo credit: Alex Green/Pexels  

Found in my 98-year-old mother’s apartment!

This is the earliest photo I've seen of my mother, Edith Schumer nee Westerfeld. Taken in 1925 in Stockstadt am Rhein, Germany, Edith is pictured here when she was only months old. The second woman from the right is holding her, and that's her older sister, Betty, standing in front of their mother. Edith and Betty survived the Holocaust, as my grandparents had the foresight to send both of them ...

A Hidden Cause of Troubled Family Relationships

Researchers have identified many root causes of estrangement, but undiagnosed autism is not on that list. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202305/a-hidden-cause-of-troubled-family-relationships

Therapist Praises Brothers, Sisters, Strangers

Therapist Whitney Goodman praises Brothers, Sisters, Strangers on Tik Tok, and identifies her favorite quote from the book. https://www.tiktok.com/@whitneygoodmanlmft/video/7228216188944567598

Who will want to read this?

My mother, Edith Schumer, was a Holocaust refugee who fled Nazi Germany as a 12-year-old unaccompanied minor. She never said a word about her past – even though the anguish and abandonment she felt in fleeing her village alone had defined her life. She lost everything in 1938: her home, her family, her language, her loyalties, her identity. The way she coped was to never speak of her early life, ...

Choosing Between Authenticity and Attachment

Many abandon their true selves to hold onto relationships, even toxic ones.   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202305/choosing-between-authenticity-and-attachment