Family Issues

Many families face challenges; divorce, illness, financial stress, estrangement, addiction, or grief, and parenting teens through hard times requires a particular kind of honesty and resilience. This section brings together thoughtful, real perspectives on the difficult issues families face, written with the candor parents actually need.

Parenting Through Grief: Raising Independent Sons After Losing Their Father

Family Estrangement: How to Find Yourself After Going Missing

Family Holidays/Special Occasions

It’s the Holidays and People are Struggling, Be Gentle with Them

A Kitchen Table Helped Me Grieve My Father’s Dementia

Parent/Child Relationship

Remembering My Son on His 26th Birthday

Filling in the Blanks: Confronting Alcoholism

I’m a Divorced Dad and Here’s Why College Drop Off Feels Normal

Having a Sister I Never Knew About Makes Me Think Differently About Parenthood

My Son Went to Jail: Here’s Why I Need to Let Go of My Shame

I Hate How Often My Teens Order Out and Eat Out

How I Felt When My Son Asked His Girlfriend’s Parents for Their Permission

Learning to Live In a World Without My Mom Has Been Hard