Generation “Best Friends”

Generation “Best Friends”

Why it has become so difficult to let go of grown-up children

“The romantic ideal of love is as sensible when rearing children as flip-flops are when climbing Mount Everest.” Gerlinde Unverzagt

Psychologists speak of “empty nest syndrome” when the sadness just doesn’t go away after one’s adult children have moved out. Now more than ever before, forsaken mothers are seeking out self-help groups. What is going on in the 45-and-over crowd’s relationships with their children? What roles do youth culture, the spirit of the times, and the fear of aging play in all this? Is separation really necessary when parents want to be their children’s best friends? And how have WhatsApp, etc., changed closeness and communication between parents and children?
Gerlinde Unverzagt has spoken with mothers, fathers, psychologists, and sociologists – and she gives her daughter Marie a voice here as well. Her book is an invitation for identification, discussion, and self-knowledge. And a solace as well – because there are a ton of new opportunities out there after the children have left home.