The article discusses the emotional challenges faced by survivors of family abuse, especially around holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day. Survivors often mourn a sense of connection they never had with their relatives. The concept of chosen family emerges as a vital means for these individuals to find love and support that was lacking in their upbringing. Moreover, examples such as Ellie, who connected with distant relatives through genetic testing, highlight innovative ways survivors can redefine familial bonds and address their emotional voids.
Mourning the departure of a loved one is about processing loss, but we survivors are mourning something we never had. Neither grief is more profound than the other, but this kind is more challenging in some ways because it's amorphous and harder to address.
Survivors can get from chosen family all the love, respect, and support we never got from our relatives. Finding chosen family is easier than we think; our species is wired for it.
For many survivors, reinventing the concept of family has been vital to assuaging their grief.
Ellie found an ingenious new twist on the concept of family that's still based on genetics and still lets her bond with relatives without having to endure abuse.
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