GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017 - 26

invisible grands

Hope for family reconciliation
BY PAT HANSON, PH.D.

oes the renewal of friendly relations seem impossible in
your family? Do you think your estranged daughter and/
or son-in-law with their complicated psychological problems will never change? Change your thinking and you might
change your life. Reunion can and does happen, but not as
swiftly as one might like. Keep these things in mind while waiting for 'divine destiny' to occur.

* Gather support from a counselor, clergy or devoted friend.
* Tune into psychologist Joshua Coleman's free Q & A and his
extremely instructive webinars on everything from personality
disorders to changing your will.
* Be grateful for all the good you do have.
* Keep your expectations low, think in possibilities, and you
may be surprised.

Give a GRAND Gift

Hope is something you carry
in your own heart that no one can
take away from you.

* Alienated Grandparents Anonymous, Inc. the flagship nonprofit for estranged grandparents, now reports over 140 success
stories from members of 100 registered support groups in 50
states and 19 countries. The tenacity of a grandparent can be an
indicator of success. Here are success stories from AGA-fl.org.
"We are not sure what happened, but our daughter invited
us to dinner at her home. We thought it would be more difficult
than it was. We had agreed that no issues would be addressed.
While numerous questions went unanswered everyone behaved
as though nothing had happened. Most of our visit was spent
with the grandchildren sharing many photos and stories of their
extended family members. We'll see what follows. Clearly baby
steps are in order."
"After trying for two years, having texted, emailed, and sent
gifts with no response, I finally got to see my daughter, son-in-law
(SIL) and grandchildren. I decided to take a trip and show up at
their door. My SIL welcomed us into their house. We got together
several more times that week. My daughter behaved as though
nothing had ever happened. I didn't say a word about it either."

Click here to continue reading
Dr. Pat Hanson is a seasoned health educator, public
speaker, and workshop facilitator. She is the author
of Invisible Grandparenting: Leave A Legacy Of Love
Whether You Can Be There or Not. She lectures nationally
on Aging Positively and is a columnist for the magazine:
Crone: Women Coming of Age.
26 GRAND

NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2017

http://www.grandsub.com https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine https://www.drjoshuacoleman.com/ http://www.aga-fl.org/ http://www.AGA-fl.org http://www.grandmagazine.com/2017/10/hope-for-family-reconciliation/ https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Grandparenting-Leave-Legacy-Whether/dp/1935530836 https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Grandparenting-Leave-Legacy-Whether/dp/1935530836 http://www.cronemagazine.com/

GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - November/December 2017