About this episode

Rin Reczek discusses her research on family estrangement and challenges common perceptions about it.

Rin Reczek spent two decades studying families before she turned her research toward estrangement.  What she found in the data took her by complete surprise. In this conversation, the sociologist and author of Families We Lose explains why the estrangement rate probably isn't actually rising, why the language of "honor thy father and mother" shows up even in nonreligious families, and why grandparent estrangement is almost never the selfish, spiteful choice it gets painted as online. In this episode, you'll learn: - What "compulsory kinship" means, and how biology-based language like "step" and "half" quietly signals hierarchy in families - Why religious phrases about honoring parents show up in estrangement stories even among people who aren't religious - Why the data doesn't support the idea that adult children are cutting off grandparents to be controlling or spiteful Connect with Rin Reczek Website: www.rinreczek.com Buy Rin’s Book: https://amzn.to/4guKWI2 Whitney Goodman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and the founder of Calling Home, a membership community that helps people navigate complex family dynamics and break harmful cycles. Have a question…

People in this episode

Host: Whitney Goodman

Guest: Rin Reczek

Topics covered

• estrangement
• family dynamics
• sociology
• kinship
• parent-child relationships

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Calling Home

Products: Toxic Positivity

Books & works: Families We Lose

More episodes of CALLING HOME with Whitney Goodman, LMFT

• Why Can't I Be Me When I'm With You? · September 8, 2026 · 41 min
• My Estrangement is Giving Me Migraines and Stomachaches · September 3, 2026 · 28 min
• The Lindsay Clancy Trial · September 1, 2026 · 1h 2m
• When a Parent Pulls Away · August 27, 2026 · 29 min
• What it’s Like On Both Sides of Estrangment With Kreed Revere · August 25, 2026 · 45 min
• My Parents Welcomed Their Estrangment · August 20, 2026 · 40 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the CALLING HOME with Whitney Goodman, LMFT podcast page.