We Gave Them Life, Now They're Trying To Take Ours: How To Talk To Adult Children Before It's Too Late

"We Gave Them Life, Now They're Trying to Take Ours", is a collection of heartfelt, true confessions by parents of adult children, for parents of adult children, revealing the problems we all must deal with if we are to have an open, honest, and loving relationship with our kids.You will discover you are not alone. We all walk on eggshells, afraid the wrong word, or deed, will provoke anger and unjustly harm the relationship. We all suffer the heartache from watching sibling rivalry tear apart our families. And, we all have sleepless nights, wondering why they never called on our birthdays, or told us they lost their jobs, or have gotten a divorce. Here is another wake up call. We all blame ourselves! We all have guilt because it must have been something we did to cause these problems. Why else would those perfect babies we created, treat us like they do: for the last forty, fifty, sixty years and counting.The book has twenty-eight different topics such as holidays, vacations, in-laws, and divorce (theirs and ours), which stand out as the most worrisome and divisive. There is a brief introduction to each topic, and then parents tell of their own, very personal experiences. I wanted to provide a safe space for parents, so I said they could remain anonymous, or if they chose, first names or initials. As you will read, this allowed them to be brutally honest.If you are looking for answers, whys, or miracle cures, as to the reasons we have so much angst and unhappiness when it comes to dealing with our adult children, this book will not give them to you. What it will do is open your eyes and give you mindfulness. It will move you to examine your own relationships. It will offer life lessons and the right to accept the one thing we all have in common, human frailty. Most importantly, this book will provide hope. Why? Because, after all the self doubt and self criticism we, as parents, subject ourselves to (or, are subjected to,) the fact is our problems and worse fears are universal, and dealt with by mothers and fathers just like ourselves.One more thing-the book is full of humor. Most of it is at our own expense, but, as someone once said, every survival kit should include a sense of humor.