To close out season 3, I’m sharing my essay, It’s better this way, published by The Audacity on October 30, 2024. This essay is about my estrangement from my mother, my late effort to understand her as a human separate from her role as mom, and of the resolve my sisters and I shared throughout our lives.

I focused on sibling estrangement this season because I wanted to understand it better. I feel very lucky that the break with my mother strengthened my connection to my sisters rather than breaking it. That is not always possible, as we’ve heard this season.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of my guests this season, who shared such personal and emotional stories in the hope of helping others going through estrangement from family. I am so grateful for their trust in me, and in you, to listen with care and compassion.

Bad Mothers will be back in the autumn with more stories from women, but with a bit broader scope. More on that soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me and Tam from Family Estrangement to talk about Virginia Evans’ novel, The Correspondent, on June 23. Details are available on the Bad Mothers Substack and linked in the episode notes.

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