All Episodes
The Estranged Heart — 274 episodes
EP270: The Grace We Give
EP269: Shame - gasoline, not water
EP268: What TikTok Taught Me
EP267: Invisible
EP266: Did They Really Know?
EP265: One Relationship. Two Experiences.
EP264: Hard Truths Require Soft Landings
EP263: Fitting In vs Belonging in Families
EP262: The Right Words
EP261: What Holds Families Together Now?
EP260: Pain - Where Does It Go?
EP259: How Power Kills Empathy
EP258: Beneath The Control - the fear-driven parent
EP257: Reconciliation Grief
EP256: Labels - "Intimate Terrorist": What Labels Do to Families Already Breaking
EP255: Who's Holding Your Pain?
EP254: Self of Mother (Mother's Day)
EP253: Grieving Lost Potential (for estranged parents)
EP252: Grieving Lost Potential (for estranged adult children)
EP251: Rethinking Tough Love
EP250: It's a THEM Problem, Not a ME Problem!
EP249: Is Culture To Blame?
EP248: Worry Feels Productive. It Isn't.
EP247: The Wave Has Parts - sadness in estrangement
EP246: Is It Really A Double Standard?
EP245: What Estrangement & Easter Have In Common - a non-religious Easter message
EP244: Her Story, Her Words, Her Healing - Part 3B
EP243: (The Bridge) Her Story, Her Words, Her Healing - part 3A
EP242: Her Story, Her Words, Her Healing - part II of III
EP241: Her Story, Her Words, Her Healing - part I of III
EP240: Dignity, Distance & the Myth of the Perfect Return
EP239: Obedience As Safety
EP238: Oprah, Estrangement, and the Questions No One Asked
EP237: When Certainty Stops Working
EP236: I Did Nothing Wrong
EP234: Part II - Estrangement Is Trauma for Parents
EP233: Estrangement Is Trauma For Parents
EP232: When Obedience Felt Like Love
EP231: When Pain Needs Care Not A Villian
EP230: When Certainty Once Kept Us Safe and No Longer Does
EP229: Curiosity Is Respect & More
EP228: Myth of the Perfect Parent
EP227: Best Gift To Give Self & Others
EP226: I Am CONFLICT. I Am LOVE. & a Solstice Blessing
EP225: Why Repair Feels Impossible — And What Actually Helps
EP224: Information or Verdict?
EP223: Both And for the Holidays
EP222: Coded Family Communication
EP221: Dear Estranged Heart - When Will It Stop Hurting?
EP220: When The Holidays Aren't Normal
EP219: 4 Year Anniversary with The Estranged Heart
EP218: Dear Estranged Heart - Does Our Once Happy Family No Longer Matter?
EP217: Hardened Heart - Mapping a Heart's Armor
EP216: Dear Estranged Heart - How Do I REALLY Apologize?
EP215: Labels in Estrangement - Help or Harm?
EP214: Dear Estranged Heart - How Do I REALLY Apologize?
EP213: Green Beans & Echo Chambers
EP212 - Dear Estranged Heart: Why Did My Child Cut Me Off?
EP211: Radical Responsibility
EP210: Dear Estranged Heart - How, When & Why Did You Start This Podcast?
EP209: When You Name It You Stop Being Ruled By It
EP208: Dear Estranged Heart - You’ve Changed. Your Support Feels Shaming of Mothers Now
EP207: The Lost Art of Curiosity
EP206: Dear Estranged Heart - DEH - It's Hard Not To Think They Aren't PUNISHING Me!
EP205: The Illusion of Control - reclaim your peace
EP204: The Relational Dangers of 'Othering'
EP203: Generational Conditioning & Emotional Needs
EP202: The Mirror Effect: When We See Our Own Wounds in Our Children
EP201: When Pain Becomes Poison
EP200: When Estranged Parents Ask Adult Children 'Why Did You Stay If It Was So Bad?'
EP199: When Their Version of You Hurts
EP198: Dear Estranged Heart - Should We Cut Our Kid Out of Our Will?
EP197: How Do I Love The Adult Child I Do Not Like?
EP196: Dear Estranged Heart - What IS Healing? And How Will I Know When I Have Arrived?
EP195: Why Parent-Adult Child Relationships Are Not Equal — And Why That Matters
EP194: Dear Estranged Heart - I Want Desperately To Send A Birthday Card/Gift. Should I?
EP193: Tunnel Vision: How Stress Distorts Our Perception in Parent & Adult Child Estrangement
EP192: Dear Estranged Heart - They Sent An Obligatory Text. What Do I Do With That?
EP191: This Is Who I Am - Or Is It?
EP190: Dear Estranged Heart: Am I’m being just as cold and unforgiving as they were?
EP189: Why Does “Disrespect” Cut So Deep?
EP188: Dear Estranged Heart - Is 'Tough Love', Love?
EP187: You Think That’s Abuse? C-PTSD & The Dangerous Legacy of Trauma Comparison
EP186: Unseen Wounds - How C-PTSD May Be Shaping Your Story (Without You Knowing)
EP185: Echo Chambers
EP184: Dear Estranged Heart - Too Little, Too Late?
EP183: This Past Mother's Day Wasn't Easy (for adult children)
EP182: Dear Estranged Heart - How To Navigate Family Conversations About EAC
EP181: This Past Mother’s Day Really Hurt (for estranged moms)
EP180: Our Collective Pain Can Become Our Collective Power
EP179: Dear Estranged Heart - How Do I Get Through Mother's Day?
EP178: When “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy” Hurts More Than It Helps
EP177: Dear Estranged Heart - New Beginnings or False Hope
EP176: When Pain Speaks Loudest: Why Divisive Language Isn’t the Answer
EP175: An Estranged Son Speaks Out
EP174: Another Fracture (part III) - Kreed's Second Story of Loss & Change
EP173: Another Fracture (part II) - Kreed's Second Story of Loss & Change
EP172: Another Fracture (part I) - Kreed's Second Story of Loss and Change
EP171: Dear Estranged Heart - What Should I Say In A Follow Up To A Pause Letter?
EP170: I Wasn't Willing or Able At The Time - Estranged Adult Child Interview, part II
EP169: Dear Estranged Heart - Am I Just Repeating the Cycle?
EP168: We Need To Heal This Family - Estranged Adult Child Interview - part I
EP167: Dear Estranged Heart - But What If 'Their Version of Reality' Is NOT Real?
EP166: Curiosity Be Damned!
EP165: Dear Estranged Heart - Why Does My Child Insist On Hurting Me By Not Acknowledging My Birthday?
EP164: Divorce & Estrangement: Understanding the Lasting Impact on Your Child
EP163: Dear Estranged Heart - Why Isn't My Apology Enough? I've Apologized MANY Times. What Else Can I Do?
EP162: Unshaming Motherhood in Estrangement
EP161: Dear Estranged Heart - When Can I Share What Changes I've Made?
EP160: Power and Choice: The Unique Dynamics That Shape Parent-Adult Child Relationships
EP159: Dear Estranged Heart - Should I Choose To Remain Estranged If ... ?
EP158: Reclaiming Curiosity In Estranged Relationships
EP157: Why ‘Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy’ Culture Contributes to Estrangement - The Cost of Chasing Only the Light
EP156: A Key to Healing Estranged Relationships: The Freedom of Letting Them Be
EP155: Who Can You Turn To? Navigating the Pain of Estrangement Without Straining Your Closest Relationships
EP153: When Traditions No Longer Fit: Grieving the Loss
EP155: Damn If I Do, Damn If I Don't
EP151: Make It Make Sense
EP150: The Estranged Heart - three years later
EP149: Pushing & Prodding are NOT Helping You!
EP148: Why Is She Reconciled and I'm Still Estranged?
EP147 - Is it Verbal Abuse or a Cry About an Unmet Need?
EP146: I Would Have Been the Perfect Mother for Me, But Probably Not for Her
EP145: Healing the Pain of Estrangement: Your Child’s Invitation
EP144: Broken Trust - How To Rebuild It
EP143: Expectations & Estrangement - the hidden dynamics
EP142: Will They Reap What They Sow
EP141: The Complexity of 'Choice' In Parent/Adult Child Estrangement
EP: 140 - The GOOD Son, My SONshine - How favoritism can prohibit any chance of reconciliation
EP139: How Can My Estranged Adult Child Be So Heartless?
EP138: But We Were SO Close! I Don't Understand What Happened!
EP137: Dear Estranged Mom - I see you, I hear you, I validate your feelings
EP136: Sometimes I Wonder If They Even Miss Me - something every estranged parent asks
EP135: Estranged Daughter / Estranged Dad - part II
EP134: Estranged Daughter / Estranged Dad - part I
EP133: Apology vs Amends - what's the difference?
EP132: My Daughter-In-Law Has Broken Our Family - The Myth of the Gatekeeper
EP131: Things Estranged Parents Grapple With
EP130: Estranged Dads Hurt Too (Father's Day)
EP129: Living With The Rejection & Separation
EP128: Should I Keep Trying? Do I WANT To Keep Trying? - how a pause letter can help
EP127: Road to Reconciliation
EP126: Reconciliation IS Possible - even after 10 years of estrangement
EP125: From Pain to Peace on Mother's Day - perspective is everything
EP124: Still A Mother
Why Do They Stay SO Angry & Resentful?
EP122: When Change Comes Calling - transitions create opportunities
EP121: Interview w/An Adult Daughter (part 4 of 4) - If I Could Just Get My Mom To See Me
EP120: Interview w/An Adult Daughter (part 3 of 4) - If I Could Just Get My Mom To See Me
EP119: Interview w/An Adult Daughter (part 2 of 4) - If I Could Just Get My Mom To See Me
EP118: Interview w/An Adult Daughter (part 1 of 4) - If I Could Just Get My Mom To See Me
We’ll Never Heal If They Won’t Do The Repair Work WITH Me!
EP116: Emotional Triggers - Kreed's Recent Personal Triggering Experience with Her Mom
EP115: Why Are They Holding A Grudge? Why Won't They Forgive Me?
EP114: LACK OF APOLOGIES & CHANGED BEHAVIOR - Themes of Parent/Adult Child Estrangement
EP113: RELIGION, POLITICS, IDENTITY ACCEPTANCE - Themes of Parent / Adult Child Estrangement
EP112: NARCISSISM & EMOTIONAL IMMATURITY - Themes of Parent/Adult Child Estrangement
EP111: Denial of Issues or Problems in Parent / Adult Child Estrangement
EP110: BOUNDARIES - Themes of Parent/Adult Child Estrangement
EP109: EMOTIONAL NEGLECT & ABUSE - Themes of Parent/Adult Child Estrangement
EP108: Interview With An Estranged Mom
EP107: Why Can’t Things Remain The Same? Navigating Change in Parent-Adult Child Estrangement
EP106: Interview With An Estranged Adult Child - I Want My Mom To Love Me In A New Way (part III)
EP105: Interview With An Estranged Adult Child - I Want My Mom To Love Me In A New Way (part II)
EP104: Interview With An Estranged Adult Child - I Want My Mom To Love Me In A New Way
EP103: I Want My Parents To Practice The Pause Instead of Reacting with "YOU'VE Done This To ME!"
EP102: Interview With An Estranged Adult Daughter
EP101 - Dear Estranged Mom: the grief, the anger - where does it go?
EP100: To Reconcile or Remain Estranged
EP99: Communication - Labels & Words
EP98: Communication - empower self to prevent or declare estrangement
EP97: Two Years With The Estranged Heart
EP96: Are They Still The Same Person? Or are we living with outdated versions & assumptions of our estranged loved ones?
EP95: Kreed & AC Answer Listener Questions
EP94: I've Done The Work .... and they still won't give me the time of day.
EP93: How Many Sides? How do we navigate conflict when there are so many sides to the story?
EP92: Kreed & AC Answer Listener Questions
EP91: Why Giving Your Children All The Things You Never Had Backfires
EP90: HELP! My Adult Child Says They Don't Feel Safe With Me
Bonus Episode: A Message on National Grandparent's Day
EP89: Difficult Truths & Comforting Lies - Why do **I** have to work on myself when they aren't doing the same?!
EP88: Kreed Answers Listener Questions
EP87: Communication - intention vs impact, expectations, boundaries and a grandparent's tool box for parenting adult children
EP86: Boundaries, Consistency & Rebuilding Trust
EP85: Change of Tactic or Change of Heart? A conversation with Kreed & AC about estrangement.
EP84: Why This Is NOT A Relationship of Equals - and why this affects the repair and healing
EP83: Respect vs. Obedience - Is respecting elders “just because” an outdated practice?
EP82: A Conversation with AC Bergen-Fischer (monthly guest host & formerly estranged adult child)
EP81: What To Do When A Parent Won't Take Accountability
EP80: An Estranged Dad's Story, part II
EP79: An Estranged Dad's Story, part 1
EP78: Estranged Dads
EP77: Estrangement Sucks - the realities & a few Aha's
EP76: What I Learned From Estrangement
EP75: What To Do When Dreams Die -grieving the loss of the parenting dreams we once had
EP74: The Platinum Rule - a fast track to possible reconciliation
EP73: SURVIVING MOTHER'S DAY, WEEK, & MONTH - Remember this when the pain is too much.
EP72: ENCORE EPISODE: Estranged Mom, Estranged Adult Child. I've Been Both.
EP71: Estrangement - trend or symptom?
EP70: Can Death Put Estrangement Into Motion? The Impact of Death On Estrangement after loss of loved one (parent; sibling)
EP69: A FINAL MESSAGE - estrangement & inheritance ... what to do?
EP68: Sibling Estrangement
EP67: Your Kid Is In Therapy. And?
EP66 - But That's NOT What I Meant! How to bridge the intent - impact gap.
EP65: A Special Kind of Grief
EP64: Life Symbology - what are we missing?
EP63: The Platinum Rule
EP62: I'm Estranged. There's Nothing To Be Grateful For!
EP61: Do They Have ANY Good Memories of Childhood?
EP60 - The Many Paths Estranged & Reconciled Mothers Walk
EP59 - My Kid Had A Charmed Life! Why Are They So Mean?
EP58: But I AM Listening!! Listening & hearing are not the same things. Learning the difference can save relationships.
EP57: Boundaries - don't leave home without them!
EP56: Let’s Talk About Trust
EP55: UPDATE - It's been a year since THE talk about the reasons why my daughters estranged. What's life been like?
EP54: Dear Estranged Mom - Are You Allowing Estrangement To Define You?
EP53: Answering Questions from Estranged Adult Children
EP52: Interview with Formerly Estranged & Now Reconciled Adult Child
EP51: The Holidays & Estrangement
EP50: Bonus Episode: 1st Anniversary of The Estranged Heart Podcast - a year in review
EP49: The Gift of Change - embracing change as a catalyst for reconciliation
EP48: Estrangement Isn’t Always About What You Did
EP47: ENCORE EPISODE - Lessons Learned
EP46: ENCORE EPISODE - Why Me?
EP45: ENCORE EPISODE - The Fracture
EP44: I Don't Know My Kid Anymore - estrangement and evolution
EP43: They Say We Were Abusive - but I know we gave them a GOOD life
EP42: Encore Episode - Collateral Damage: grandchildren and grandparents
EP41: Encore Episde - How Did We Get Here?
EP40: Encore Episode - Estranged Mom & Estranged Adult Child ... I've been both.
EP39: Chasing vs. Letting Them Be
EP38: Encore Episode - Trauma & Estrangement
EP37: What To Look For In A Therapist
EP36: Announcements, Reminders & a Reading
EP35: Estrangement and Suicide
EP34: Words Matter - what’s language got to do with it?
EP33: Conflict Resolution
Ep32: Your Estranged Adult Child Is NOT Your Peer
Ep31: What To Tell Others - how to talk about estrangement with family, friends, and strangers
EP30: I'm SO Angry
EP29: Gatekeepers
Ep28: How Can An Estrangement Coach Help Me?
Ep27: May, Moms & Mother’s Day
Ep26: Addictions & Estrangement
Ep25: Let’s Talk About Therapists & Therapy
Ep24 - Do Our Children Owe Us Something?
Ep23 - Doormat & Boundaries
Ep22 - Guilt & Grief: coping with shoulda, coulda, wouldas
Ep21 - They Won’t Speak To Me
Ep20: When All Hope Is Lost - what to do when reconciliation is not possible
Ep19: Apologies & Amends Letters - are they really necessary?
Ep18: Is There Really Something Wrong With The Adult Child?
Episode 17: Collateral Damage - Grandchildren & Grandparents
EP16: Bonus Episode: Seeking Volunteers for Research Study
EP15: Bonus Episode: Valentine’s Day - a message of love
Episode 14: Atlas of Love - a Valentine’s Day episode
Episode 13, part 2: Trauma & Estrangement
Episode 13, part 1: Trauma & Estrangement
Episode 12: Emotions and Estrangement
Episode 11: How Did We Get Here? Rooting out reasons for estrangement.
Episode 10: In Losing Them, I Found Myself
Bonus Episode: So Long 2021, Hello 2022
Episode 9: How Do I Get Through This?
Bonus Episode: A Christmas Message
Episode 8: Estranged Mom. Estranged Adult Child. I’ve Been Both.
Episode 7: Mom … We Need To Talk
Episode 6: I Taught Her Well
Episode 5: Lessons Learned - What life looks like today.
Episode 4: The Repair
Episode 3: Why Me?
Episode 2: The Fracture
Episode 1: Estranged Hearts Everywhere
An Introduction to The Estranged Heart Podcast
The Estranged Heart (Trailer)