Estrangement discourse increasingly suggests that modern psychology and therapy is overly sensitizing adult children to believe "normal" parenting was, in fact, traumatic. This month's Educational Series examines that narrative.

Estrangement has a way of sneaking into your life and triggering memories. And it may come in the form of flashbacks, déjà vu, or you may just catch yourself imitating a parent even though you swore up and down that you would never be like him or her. And all this has gotten me to think about our memories. The painful ones we try to conceal that always manage to surface. Can we trust them?