Introductory Post for Estrangements, the Blog.

Estrangements, the blog, began on the website, Estrangements.com, in 2001. The purpose of that website is to collect a wide range of information about family estrangements.

The blog became too lengthy to keep adding to on the website so I began a blog here on Typepad in 2005. Posts from 2001 to 2005 are on the pages of Estrangements.com. Posts from 2005 onward are here on this Typepad blog. The archives here go back to 2005.

For more information about the blog and the website, see the linked post titled: "Introduction to Estrangements" in the sidebar (or click the "Intro" link in the menu at the top if you are viewing this on a phone). Or just click here: Intro.

Good advice on rejectedparents.net by Sheri MacGregor

In checking my site stats today I noticed that more than one visitor regularly visits my 2013 post about Sheri McGregor's rejectedparents.net site. So I went to visit it for a bit to see what she has been writing about lately.

I found her August 29 post on "Looking for the Good" which I really really like! I recommend it!

After reading Sheri's post, I realize that I am having a day in which I have looked for the good and have committed a random act of kindness (RAOK). And have plans to do another RAOK. It's a nice feeling to do those things.

BTW, Sheri is the author of Done With the Crying: Help and Healing for Mothers of Estranged Adult Children.

Greetings on a Significant Day!

Australian Bev Roberts hosts/interviews Joshua Coleman Podcast in Youtube video

I found this today. Haven't watched it yet. I hope some find it helpful.

Mark Sichel: Forgiveness - 10 Steps To Letting Go Of Resentment

To read the rest of Mark Sichel's post on resentement on his blog, click the tiny link below the paragraph:

Poisoned Mind, Poisoned Body
Take a look again at that quote: "Living with resentment is like taking poison and expecting the other guy to get sick." This makes vivid one of the most crippling aspects of resentment—one you may be experiencing right now. If you're thinking about ways to get even and prove to another person that you're right and they're wrong, you need to remember that the person who is the focus of your animosity may be feeling just fine, enjoying life, and perhaps not at all troubled by any of the interactions that are renting space in your brain. Ultimately, resentment hurts you far more than the person toward whom you bear a grudge.

via www.marksichel.com

HiddenVoices. FinalReport

Hidden Voices: A study of family estrangement:

"This research was conducted by Dr Lucy Blake from the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with Stand Alone Charity and its beneficiaries. An online survey was created with the aim of examining the experiences and psychological consequences of estrangement from a family member."

via www.standalone.org.uk

Click the link above to go to the website to read the full report.

Can you opt out of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day?

by Rachel Grumman Bender, May 5, 2021

Whether you’re estranged from a parent or child, have lost a child or parent, or are coping with infertility, holidays such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can bring up a range of complicated emotions. Not everyone wants reminders of those holidays constantly showing up in their inbox either. So several brands have taken the initiative by offering customers the option of opting out of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day emails.

via www.yahoo.com

Father's Day Archives - Parents of Estranged Adult Children: Help and Healing

by Sheri McGregor, June 17, 2016

As Father’s Day rolls around again, many of you fathers of estranged adult children are holding hurt inside. For fathers of estranged adult children, Father’s Day can be a time of embarrassment and pain—yet those feelings aren’t necessarily discussed, or acknowledged. Many fathers keep themselves busy and don’t share their pain. Some ask, “What’s the use of talking about something you can’t fix?” Others, as I’ve learned in my research, want to stay strong for their partner.

via www.rejectedparents.net

How to Make it Through Father's Day If It's Difficult For You

by Elizabeth Yuko, June 18, 2020

And though people (rightfully) think about Father’s Day being difficult for children and adult children of deceased, estranged or absentee dads, Aisha R. Shabazz, a licensed clinical social worker, therapist and clinical supervisor, says that we should consider the other side, too. Specifically, “the shame and sadness that could potentially come along with ‘everyone’ else receiving gifts, lunches, dinners and acknowledgements, while others are getting nothing because their child is deceased or estranged from them,” she tells Lifehacker. “You receive the title of ‘father’ because you have children and yet, if your children are not present, you feel as though you cease to exist. It’s very isolating.”

via lifehacker.com

Lonely Hearts: Estranged Fathers on Father’s Day - Sociological Images

Josh Coleman PhD on June 16, 2017

I work with one of the most heartbroken groups of people in the world: fathers whose adult children want nothing to do with them. While every day has its challenges, Father’s Day—with its parade of families and feel-good ads—makes it especially difficult for these Dads to avoid the feelings of shame, guilt and regret always lurking just beyond the reach of that well-practiced compartmentalization. Like birthdays, and other holidays, Father’s Day creates the wish, hope, or prayer that maybe today, please today, let me hear something, anything from my kid

via thesocietypages.org

Is It Still Father’s Day If Your Kids Won’t Speak…

By Joshua Coleman | June 14, 2018  

Thomas Markle, father of the Royal Wedding bride, is not the only dad who wasn’t at his child’s wedding, and not the saddest one. At least he was invited. Each year, thousands of fathers won’t attend their child’s wedding—and not because they lack the desire, but because their grown children don’t want anything to do with them.

via greatergood.berkeley.edu