This article first appeared in the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader on Aug. 5, 2021.

Families in America appear to be disintegrating, and with them, our collective mental health.

In a column headlined "What's Ripping American Families Apart?" in the July 29 New York Times, David Brooks reported that 27% of Americans are now estranged from a member of their own family, and 40% have experienced estrangement at some point.

"The most common form of estrangement is between adult children and one or both parents -- a cut usually initiated by the child," Brooks wrote.

American parents are twice as likely to be estranged from their adult children as parents in Israel, Germany, England and Spain. Oddly, this is happening in an era when many parents are investing more time and money than ever in th

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