One word that can mess up an apology...
The upside of apologizing is pretty obvious: You patch things up, you offload your guilt, and you move on from any tension or awkwardness that’s been plaguing your relationship with the person you hurt. But the worst part of apologizing is obvious, too: It’s deeply uncomfortable. No one likes to talk about how they screwed up, nor does anyone enjoy making themselves vulnerable. Which means that we often make clumsy attempts to get to the good stuff without the requisite unple
How to talk to your kids about family addiction
By the time my daughter Christina was 4, she had attended the funerals of my elder sister and my mother, both of whom died of alcoholism-related illness at the respective ages of 42 and 67. I don’t remember the first time Christina asked how her “Nonnie” and aunt died, but I do remember my answer: “They died because they drank too much alcohol and it made them sick.” From that conversation on, I have been open with her, and her younger brother, about the fact that alcoholism
