Healing From Family Rifts: Ten Steps to Finding Peace After Being Cut Off From a Family MemberPaperback, 2 March 2004

Ten steps to surviving a family rift, finding peace, and moving on

A family rift is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can face. It can have a profound effect on virtually every aspect of life, causing depression, relationship problems, and even physical illness. Healing From Family Rifts offers hope to those coping with a split in their families. Family therapist Mark Sichel addresses the pain and shame connected with family rifts and offers a way through the crisis and on toward healing and fulfillment. Uniquely, Sichel does not assume that every rift will or even should be mended. Instead, he offers ways to recover from any outcome, including:

A 10-step process to come to terms with the family dynamics that led to the split

Methods to find peace and personal reconciliation

Skills that help to build a second family of people whose values are in line with one's own

Techniques to fight feelings of guilt when faced with a family rift

Includes inspiring and instructive stories drawn from the author's patients that help readers put their own situations in perspective.