Family estrangement. It’s kind of big on social media right now, but not always in a healthy kind of way. Gretchen Baskerville, author of The Life Saving Divorce, has done research on this, and she’s discovered nine types of family estrangement.
Chances are, you’ve had a brush with…or are experiencing…at least one type.
Watch or listen in to hear real stories that show how addiction, control, mental illness, outside manipulation, and even distorted theology can all play a role in family estrangements, and why the truth is almost always more layered than “who’s the villain here.”
Key Takeaways:
- There’s no single reason families become estranged: what looks the same on the outside can mean something completely different underneath.
- Some of the most common “explanations” you see online only tell half the story, and Gretchen explains why.
- One popular Christian teaching has quietly shaped how families handle conflict, and the data on it might shock you.
- Not every estrangement is permanent. Gretchen shares research on how many families eventually reconnect, and what actually predicts it.
- You’ll walk away with four powerful questions that can help you understand your own family’s story with more clarity and less judgment.
You can read Gretchen’s insightful article on parent/adult-child estrangement HERE. And while you’re there, be sure to check out her other researched articles on the topics of Christianity and divorce.
🎁 Want to hear about my own experiences with family estrangements? Come listen to the audio version of my book, All the Scary Little Gods. It’s a spiritual memoir about healing from religious trauma and toxic programming. You can listen to it FREE by going to scarylittlegods.com
I will also send you my weekly Hope Letters for Christian women in emotionally and spiritually abusive marriages.
Gretchen Baskerville is a Christian divorce recovery leader and researcher. Since 1998, she has worked in churches in the Los Angeles area helping heartbroken people find strength, courage, and healing. For more than 20 years she has worked with Christian women and men going through difficult, life-saving divorces, listening with compassion to those who have suffered from domestic violence, betrayal, infidelity, addicted partners, and emotional abuse. Herself the survivor of a toxic marriage, she walked through her own lifesaving divorce and was a single mother for many years. Today she is happily remarried. She is a graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in Bible and Christian Education.
