The Silver Linings

While Living in the Land of Estrangement

Live and in person! What a gift it was to meet Jennifer face-to-face!

Neither of us can recall when we actually started connecting and working together. We vaguely remember Aimee Palmer of P.E.A.C. connecting us when Jennifer first started working on her vision for a professional nonprofit to help support those navigating estrangement.

Without ever meeting, we both had seen this need over the years. Most especially, the need to provide a resource list of professionals with expertise in navigating family estrangement in every single state. The need to support families with this story is immense, but the organization and platform remain elusive.

As with any grassroots effort, it takes time and participation to create, and oftentimes the motivation and sincere efforts just fizzle out. Fast forward to today, we are both working diligently (for free) toward a similar goal: the growing coalition, ESMH (www.esmhcoalition.org).

Our vision and mission, which started with KATT of Make It Make Sense, along with numerous other professionals and parents, is to bring more awareness and professional accountability to what is happening to the breakdown of families today.

Jennifer and I have become closer over the past year, writing on Substack and supporting each other’s work and stories. We are both passionate about this work, that neither of us chose, but that actually chose us.

We both have lived experiences that propel us onward and upward. We have both published books this year to help support those living in the land of estrangement. We speak, support, write, coach, educate, and advocate for estranged parents while simultaneously surviving our own stories, with those smiles on our faces today.

Yes, there is life after loss.

A blessing is that we both have a great sense of humor. Her gifts and talents, particularly in the area of technology, far surpass mine, as you can see by my efforts to crop the photo of us! Lol!

Regardless, we are both doing our best, with what life has given to us.

If any of you who attended the Family Summit in Chicago would like to join us for a Zoom chat to process this event, please let us know. We are talking about offering one.

In it with you.

In it together!