What makes family estrangement so painful? Why do these rifts arise in the first place, and how can we overcome them? In a Chats in the Stacks talk at Mann Library in January 2021, Dr. Karl Pillemer discusses his new book, “Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them” (Avery, 2020). Based largely on Pillemer’s groundbreaking, ten-year Cornell Reconciliation Project—the first national survey on estrangement—“Fault Lines” combines science-based repair tools with the personal experiences of hundreds of people who have mended family rifts. The result is a unique guide to healing fractured families, essential during this time of distance and isolation. Karl Pillemer is the Hazel E. Reed Professor in Department of Human Development at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. He also serves as professor of gerontology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and senior associate dean for research and outreach in the College of Human Ecology.
