Have your adult children pulled away, not just emotionally, but completely? Do holidays pass without a single call or message? Are you living in the silence of family estrangement and wondering how things ended up here?

You might be one of the estranged parents quietly carrying the weight of silence, questioning how something so natural, like parenting, could lead to such a painful distance. What once felt like care and involvement may now look like codependent parenting, tangled in fear, guilt, and a deep longing to stay connected.

In this conversation, Lori Albright opens up about her real-life journey through parenting mistakes, silence from her adult children, and the hard truth of letting go as a parent. She shares how joining support groups for parents and working through the 12 steps for codependency helped her shift from heartbreak to hope.

We talk about the grief that doesn’t come with a funeral, the kind of grief rooted in empty nest grief and the ache of family estrangement. Lori reflects on her decision to break long-standing generational patterns and how therapy for estranged parents gave her language, perspective, and the strength to keep showing up.

You’ll hear how the pressure of perfection and overgiving led to patterns of codependent parenting, and how redefining boundaries became a step toward emotional healing. Lori’s journey reminds us that no matter the silence, there's still room to heal, reflect, and begin again.

We also unpack why motherhood and identity often feel fused and what it takes to untangle them in the aftermath of estrangement and disconnection.

Here’s what we explored:

• Why motherhood and identity often feel fused and how to untangle the two
• The role of reflection and humility in emotional healing
• When silence becomes the signal to begin again
• How to honor boundaries while holding space for future connection
• What it really means to be brave after breaking generational cycles

If you’ve ever felt invisible inside your own story, this episode is for you. It’s not a how-to manual. It’s a hand on your shoulder, saying “You’re not alone and there’s still purpose for you here.”

Here’s to healing forward,

Allison

Want to be a guest on the show? Apply to share your story.

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.lifecoachallisongoldberg.com

Email: [email protected]