In this thoughtful episode, host Tina Gilbertson gently encourages parents to embrace their own humanity while recognizing the shared struggles of their estranged adult children.

She cautions against the polarizing views that often define parent-adult child estrangement, pitting parents and children against each other.

By emphasizing the shared struggles and vulnerabilities within these groups, Tina invites listeners to reconsider unhelpful attitudes that lead to further pain and division.

She suggests there's little to be gained in claiming moral high ground in these relationships. Instead of assigning blame, Tina emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the humanity in one another.

This compassionate perspective encourages both parents and estranged adult children to recognize their common experiences of hurt, longing, and misunderstanding. Acknowledging these feelings can pave the way for healing and connection.

For evidence-based information and tools to repair your relationship with your estranged adult child(ren), read Tina's book, Reconnecting With Your Estranged Adult Child.

Club members can discuss this and every episode in the General Discussion forum inside the Reconnection Club. Not a member yet? Learn more and join.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg

Reconnection Club Podcast Ep. 204: Causes of Connection

For parents unwillingly estranged from your adult child or children during the holiday season, host Tina Gilbertson and members of the Reconnection Club community want you to know you're not alone. If estrangement is casting a shadow over the holidays for you this year, there's someone else who knows what it's like.

This special holiday episode, originally aired on December 16th, 2024, came directly from the hearts and minds of unwillingly estranged parents. In their own words, with their own voices, they shared personal messages of compassion, solidarity, and commitment to a better tomorrow.

Download and listen to this very special episode in your podcast player app before it expires on December 29, 2025.

Episodes never expire from the Reconnection Club website. Find any episode on our site by typing the episode number after "Reconnectionclub.com" and then "/" like this: "Reconnectionclub.com/213"

For more holiday-related resources from the Reconnection Club, check out these materials:

RCP Episode 107: Staying Present In Their Absence

Practice Slow Breathing BEFORE the Holidays

Inviting Estranged Adult Children Home For the Holidays

RCP Episode 69: It's OK to Enjoy Yourself During Estrangement

Make a Detailed Plan to Get Through Special Days

Getting Through Christmas

For much more about how to deal with estrangement from your adult child(ren) throughout the year, read Tina's book, Reconnecting With Your Estranged Adult Child.

Reconnection Club members can discuss this and every episode in the General Discussion forum inside the Reconnection Club. Not a member yet? Learn more and join.

TRANSCRIPT:

These are uncertain times for those of us who create and freely share content via the Internet.

I mentioned on the podcast earlier this year that I needed some time to assess the impact of all the changes happening in the world of digital information, including the widespread, unregulated use of AI.

At that time, I removed the show from a couple of the larger platforms, and stopped releasing new episodes to those platforms. Unfortunately, many smaller platforms were also affected. And that's made it a lot harder for the show to be found by new listeners, which is a dilemma I'm still wrestling with.

Because it's become clear that even more changes are necessary to protect the integrity of this podcast, even while making sure that you, the listener, can still access it.

So here's the current plan.

Starting with Episode 177, which will be released on July 29th, 2024, new episodes will appear in more places, but with certain exceptions, they will expire when the next episode is released.

And beginning immediately, I'm going to start expiring some of the older episodes – again, with certain exceptions.

Namely, the following:

- If you're used to listening to the videos on our YouTube channel, or ...

- If you listen on the Reconnection Club website...

Nothing will change for you.

There will be no expiration and you can disregard this entire announcement. (Again, that is if you listen on either our YouTube channel, or our website.)

However, if you use a podcast player app like iHeartRadio or Pocket Casts, then new episodes starting with 177 will typically be available for only two weeks, and then they will expire.

There are ways to get around that two-week time limit. Within those first two weeks, you should still be able to download episodes and keep them for however long you want, depending on the app. Please check on that directly with your app. I don't have that information.

But if you ever lose an episode or can't find one that you're looking for, remember you can always find every single episode, old and new, on the Reconnection Club website, at reconnectionclub.com/podcast, or by episode number, for example, "reconnectionclub.com/130" for Episode 130. Or, subscribe to our YouTube channel for free and listen there.

I know that episode expiration will not be a welcome change, and I thank you for your understanding and patience as I try to strike a balance between limiting unauthorized access by AI, and preserving your access to the podcast as a listener.

I also thank you for sharing the Reconnection Club Podcast with other parents experiencing unwanted estrangement from their adult children.

Thank you for your continued support in these challenging times.