Estrangement Is a Process, Not an Event

According to the Family Communication and Relationships Lab at Utah State University, most family estrangements begin when communication between the generations declines in both quality and quantity. "My daughter used to share everything with me, and now I get a cursory text or phone call only when she really needs something,” complains a client, whose 27-year-old reports that “it feels like she’s always criticizing or judging me, which makes me leave or hang up or lose my temper, and before you know it we haven’t spoken for weeks. When I finally call, I never tell her about anything that really matters anymore.”…