This unique book helps parents work through the pain, shame, and sense of loss that they feel when their relationship with their older or adult children has not turned out as they hoped or expected
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we lose the opportunity to be the parent we desperately want to be and must mourn the loss of a harmonious relationship with our child. Although this situation may seem hopeless, When Parents Hurt is designed to help us through this intensely difficult situation with compassion and thoughtfulness.
Through healing exercises and case examples, Dr. Joshua Coleman helps parents:
By helping parents recognize what they can do—and to let go of what they cannot control—When Parents Hurt helps families develop more positive ways of relating to themselves and each other.
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Dr. Joshua Coleman, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert in parenting, couples, families, and relationships. He is a Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families. The author of two critically acclaimed books, The Marriage Makeover and The Lazy Husband, he is a frequent contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle, and his advice has been featured in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, the Times (London), and elsewhere. He is a frequent guest on the Today show and has appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, and many other news programs. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area.
In When Parents Hurt, psychologist and parent Joshua Coleman, Ph.D., offers insight, empathy, and perspective to those who have lost the opportunity to be the parent they desperately wanted to be and who are mourning the loss of a harmonious relationship with their child. Through case examples and healing exercises, Dr. Coleman helps parents:
By helping parents recognize what they can do and let go of what they cannot, Dr. Coleman helps families develop more positive ways of healing themselves and relating to each other.
Chapter One
Parents on the Firing Line
Dear Mom,
I have decided that I don't want to have any contact with you ever again. Please don't write or call me anymore. I can't stop thinking about all of the ways that you were never there for me when I was growing up. Whenever I see or talk to you, I just end up feeling depressed, angry, and upset for weeks afterwards. It's just not worth it to me and I need to get on with my life. Please respect my wishes and don't contact me again.
Letter from Clarice, 23, to her mother Fiona, 48
Fiona sat on my couch in her first visit without looking at me or saying anything. She reached into her purse and handed me the letter from her daughter as if to say, "This says it all." And it did. As a psychologist, I've counseled many adult children like Fiona's daughter; in some cases, I've helped them to craft letters just like hers, or supported them in cutting off contact with a mother, a father, or both. I know the finality that these letters can portend. It's a deadly serious business and the stakes are huge—a therapist has no business giving advice in this arena unless he or she has carefully thought about the long-term implications of these decisions.
I felt for this desolate mother sitting in front of me because I knew that the letter could be the last contact that Fiona would ever have with her daughter. A flood of questions were already circulating in my mind. "Why is her daughter so angry at her? What has Fiona done to try to repair it? How capable has she been of taking responsibility or listening in a non-defensive way to her daughter's complaints? How receptive will she be to my recommendations for how to respond?"
"I'm sorry," I said, handing back the letter. "That must be so painful."
Fiona looked relieved, as though she had expected me to blame her. "I worry about her all of the time and can't stop wondering what horrible thing I did to make my own child turn against me? I'm sure I made my fair share of mistakes, but I wasn't that different with her than I was with the other three." She started sobbing. "Clarice was always the hardest of my four children. Even when she was young, she seemed so impossible to please. We did everything for her: individual therapy, family therapy, medication, you name it—nothing seemed to make her feel happy or connected to us. My other kids resented her because she sucked all of the time, energy, and money out of the family that should have gone to all four of them. She won't talk to my other kids, either, except for the youngest. It's really heartbreaking," she said, grabbing for the Kleenex. "It is so goddamned heartbreaking!"
Are Parents to Blame?
Not that long ago I would have assumed that Fiona must have done something terribly wrong to cause her daughter to respond in such a dramatic way. My training as a psychologist taught me that the problems of the adult child can always be linked to some form of mistreatment from the parent. While this is often true, it doesn't hold for all families. And when it is true, it's often a far more complex picture than most therapists and self-help authors realize.
As I worked with Fiona over the next few months, I came to understand that she had been a reasonable and conscientious mother. As her story and others illustrate, it is possible to be a devoted and conscientious parent and still have it go badly. You can do everything right and your child can still grow up and not want to have the kind of relationship with you that you always hoped you'd have. You can do everything right, and your child may still end up with a drug problem that costs you thousands of dollars and endless heartache. You can do everything right and your child may still choose the kind of friends or partners that you never imagined she would have chosen because these people seem so lost and are dragging your child into losing more. You can do everything right and your child can still fail to launch a successful adulthood despite being gifted and talented or possessing an IQ that most people would kill for.
Very few of us escape feeling guilt toward our offspring. It may be part of our evolutionary heritage, a way that nature hardwires us to stay sensitive to them, even after they're grown. And some parents are responsible for transgressions that are harmful to their children: child abuse, incest, neglect, and alcoholism are a few of the more egregious examples. However, whether the parenting mistakes are subtle or serious, real or imagined, today's parents are completely confused by their children's failures and accusations. They need guidance and support for themselves, not more advice about their children.
Who is this book for?
This book is written for:
Excerpted from When Parents Hurtby Joshua Coleman Copyright © 2008 by Joshua Coleman. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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