The Estranged Cat is Out of the Bag and the Herd of Elephants in the Room is Being Acknowledged

Before I begin, I want readers to know that I have a lot of trepidation about posting this two-part article. Although I don't get too specific about my husband's and my experience with estrangement, it identifies us as members of the discarded parents club. The post has been sitting in my draft folder for several weeks and Larry and I have been mulling over it and praying. I spoke to my spiritual director as well. 

After serious consideration, I've decided to post it now during the month of the Sacred Heart uniting our sorrow to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate and sorrowful heart of the Blessed Mother.

I Owe My Parents Everything! Thanks, Mom and Dad.

I was recently reading Roberta Wasserman's article titled "I Don't Owe My Parents Anything." She's a therapist who is estranged from two of her four children. She works with many estranged parents cut off by one or more of their offspring. Interestingly some of those most critical of her work are fellow counselors. She has mentioned several times how shocking it was to be attacked by her colleagues for listening to suffering parents and advising them:

As a professional working with the increasing population of estranged parents, I had created a training to illuminate this popular movement and its emotional impact. The reality that many of the current estrangements were seeded and rooted in therapy rooms compelled me to create space for deeper understanding. Instead, I was met with vitriol and hostility on a professional platform—an intensity that stunned me. Only later did I realize that many of the keyboard screamers were themselves estranged. My words had tapped into their stories and threatened their perceived peace.