For readers of Drama Free and The Origins of You, therapist Minaa B. explores one of our most influential yet least examined family bonds: adult sibling relationships.
Do you ever wonder why you and your siblings are so different from each other, even though you grew up together? Or why it can be so hard to get along with or understand your siblings, even as adults? Maybe you're the eldest daughter who's burnt out from chronic caretaking, or perhaps you wonder why your parents still treat your sibling as the golden child who can do no wrong. Maybe you just aren't that close to your siblings and feel grief over the bond that never formed, or you were once close to your sibling but have drifted apart in adulthood. Siblinghood is an insightful guide to understanding, navigating, and healing our complex relationships with our adult siblings--whether we're close, estranged, or somewhere in between.
Blending personal experience and psychological expertise, therapist and mental health educator Minaa B. explores how sibling bonds are shaped and how they can become fractured over time, examining gender roles and cultural influences, family systems, lifestyle choices, and trauma. With warmth and realness, Siblinghood gives readers tools to reflect on their childhood and the patterns they inherited, and, most importantly, equips readers to find peace in whatever sibling relationship they currently have.
No matter if your siblings are biological, adopted, step, or half-siblings, within the pages of Siblinghood you'll learn:
- Strategies for managing sibling relationships impacted by trauma, parental favoritism, and mental health conditions like narcissism and addiction
- The difference between sibling rivalry and sibling abuse (and why we aren't talking about this enough)
- Tips for navigating codependency, family dysfunction, and boundaries in low or no-contact sibling relationships; and
- How to thoughtfully create chosen siblings and seek out healthy, meaningful relationships
Whether you're seeking reconciliation, trying to set boundaries, or simply looking to understand your siblings better, this book offers a path forward rooted in acceptance and self-compassion.
