“I miss my mom.”  I’ve noticed that this sentence makes an appearance in my thoughts more than I care to admit.  Sometimes it’s not surprising, like when I’m having a difficult day and my nerves and patience are worn thin.  I start craving that support, understanding, validation, and love that only a mother can provide.

I have been completely estranged from my family for almost a decade.  And over the past 10 years, the most significant, life-altering changes have occurred in almost every major area of my life.  I finally established residency in one particular location, got married, started a family, and switched careers.  I have built new friendships, let others go, and have tried to devote energy to sustaining the ones that have meant the most to me.  Despite all of these wonderful and po

I recently celebrated a birthday, and the experience was similar to every birthday I’ve had since establishing complete estrangement with...

I initially discovered Together Estranged  when I was searching for an audience who would potentially benefit from a children’s book I...

When you are estranged, your identity, how you explain your place in this world, becomes uncertain.  As a child, you were most likely...

I have a problem with being uncomfortable.  I don’t like ambiguity; everything has to be clearly spelled out in big, black, block...

As challenging of a relationship I had with my family, praise for achievements was never withheld.  I was a type-A, hardworking, and...

I can’t be the only person whose heart fills with dread looking at the calendar knowing that a specific day that should be cause for...

I occasionally wonder if people who have experienced estrangement have an empathy switch that has been permanently turned to the off...

If you had asked me when I was younger, I would have said very adamantly that I was never going to get married and have children...

Estrangement is a more complex topic than appears at surface level or to an outsider who has never felt its all-encompassing,...

I have an older brother.  With only 1.5 years between us, we had a close relationship during our childhoods.  Over the years, his role...

Every year it feels as though the holiday season approaches even more quickly than the last.  The early morning chill is usually the...

I have been estranged from my family for a little over the past 8 years.  While at this point in my life I’m confident that I have made...

share the same goal of creating a loving and safe childhood for your child(ren), but you’re both using vastly different frames of reference