When children become adults, the relationship with their parents is supposed to change. But what happens when expectations, obligations, and ideas about family no longer align? Inspired by a conversation with sociologist Rin Reczek, this article explores compulsory kinship, family estrangement, ambiguous grief, chosen family, and what it really means to build healthier adult relationships.

Why are so many adult children cutting off their parents? The answer may be more complicated than either side wants it to be. In response to a recent Wall Street Journal article, LCSW Sarah Benitez-Zandi explores social media, therapy culture, boundaries, trauma language, changing family expectations, and whether our growing emphasis on individual well-being has come at the expense of healthy interdependence.