gifts

  "Once you see it," one woman says, "you can't unsee it."   https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202309/can-narcissism-be-identified-in-children     photo credit: Ibrahem Bana

  In my mother’s town, Stockstadt am Rhein, two Jewish families had lived among 2,000 people for centuries. On the Sabbath, my 98-year-old mother remembers that her family walked to synagogues in Biebesheim or Erfelden to worship with other Jews who lived in towns along the Rhein River. Decades after the Holocaust, all that remains of Jewish life in these two towns are the synagogue buildings. In 1988, fifty years ...

Sibling therapist Karen Gail Lewis, Ph.D. explains how the sibling dynamic can appear in partner relationships, friendships, even co-worker interactions. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202309/5-ways-the-sibling-dynamic-reappears-in-adult-relationships  

There are no hard and fast rules on how to reconcile after estrangement. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202308/can-family-members-reconcile-without-discussing-their-issues

Last month, I examined the idea of going no contact. This month's post explores what it takes to reconcile with a family member: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/brothers-sisters-strangers/202307/how-to-reconcile-with-an-estranged-family-member?fbclid=IwAR3dpCxvI4pETq2nb0ItKYfw8ckZ194dU8dOtiZ9HUDNQdbuKDYhvTutIE4

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.

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 ...