You know it, I know it. Going no-contact is a last resort.

Heaven knows we tried. Nobody wants to end up with zero or limited connection to people who were supposed to love us.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where you don’t have to explain yourself?

I did. That’s why I created this. I tried everything I knew to be a good daughter, sister, niece, cousin and aunt while still maintaining my mental health, responsibilities, and self-respect. I even became a therapist, when my heart was really in the arts (surprise, surprise, I was told I couldn’t make a living.) All the healing work I did on myself in the process of becoming a therapist led to me cutting ties with the majority of my family of origin.

Let me light your way with this torch I grabbed from the burning bridge. Even if you have workable relationships, you are welcome here, and I bet you find something to relate to. A mishmash of professional opinion and memoir, this substack is probably not boring, and possibly informative and funny. I wouldn’t be able to write this without my education and training, but I also wouldn’t be able to write this in a self-helpy “expert voice” either. It’s for you, but it’s also for me. Storytelling heals the teller as well as the listener.

You might not know where to start. It’s like beginning a whole new life after an estrangement, and it can be disorienting and lonely.

That first holiday.

Building healthier relationships.

Untangling your political views from what you were told.

Pros and cons of telling people to fuck off.

How to locate the you in all the programming.

Juicy, true stories with creative fake names.

Sincerity.

Humor.

Snark.

Hope.

It’s all there.

Come aboard the Estrangement Train, where the seats are soft but it’s still a kick in the ass.