10/26/2025
"And yes, sometimes cutting off contact really is the healthiest choice. I support anyone’s right to make that decision thoughtfully. But I also think we need to slow down and ask: are we cutting off dysfunction—or cutting off discomfort? Are we refusing to tolerate abuse—or refusing to engage in the repair work that all long-term relationships eventually require? We’ve flattened family life into a binary of healthy versus harmful, but most real relationships live in the space in between. Families are full of ambivalence—conflicting needs, unresolved histories, love tangled with frustration. That doesn’t automatically mean someone is on a power trip or trying to control another. Sometimes, the needs really do conflict. And navigating that tension—holding space for multiple truths, negotiating without erasing—is the heart of mature relational work."
https://rachelhaack.substack.com/p/weve-been-subvertedand-its-showing?fbclid=IwY2xjawNq-z5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjKUjyryS82xoSiLk67nibwqXCVPNTLoHIYr7j1wP9UVZE-duP8LAc7ZcVMe_aem_1F55IEe9ANqTUI5hr_0TvA
How demoralization, destabilization, crisis, and normalization are reshaping our understanding of kinship—and why we need to talk about it.
