Your siblings are your first playmates, supporters, and source of love you can count on. But what if that’s not the case? How will you handle sibling estrangement?
Fern Schumer Chapman is the author of Brothers, Sisters, Strangers: Sibling Estrangement and the Road to Reconciliation (Viking/Penguin, 2021). Several of her other award-winning books are used in classrooms, including Is It Night or Day? and Like Finding My Twin.
Also her memoir, Motherland — a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and a BookSense76 pick — is a popular choice for book clubs.
While the Junior Library Guild selected Stumbling on History and Three Stars in the Night Sky as featured titles. Additionally, Fern was named the “Illinois Author of the Year” in 2004 by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE). Also, her books were featured twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
In this podcast episode hosted by Dina Sargeant, Fern shared her perception of how the family is defined in this modern society, the core value of listening and understanding each other’s experiences, and how it affects relationships with your siblings.
She also talked about her reconciliation with his brother. And gave advice to communicate in the best way possible with your sibling, address the problems encountered, and discuss the estrangement. Those are the things she did to fix the issues with his brother. She added the importance of understanding and giving assurance to each other to redevelop trust.
There are many causes of sibling estrangement, but there are also ways that can help you mend your relationship if you realize it’s worth saving.
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