In honor of Mother’s Day tomorrow, I am taking a break from writing about connection at work to focus on connection in families. Each of us experience times in life when we feel disconnected from family members. The lack of relational intimacy with the people we love can be especially painful. It often contributes to unhealthy behaviors as a means to cope with the pain. In the stories of individuals who break their addiction, you will nearly always find one person or a group of people who helped heal the wounds of the addicted with love and encouragement.
Lost & Found is the poignant story of Kathryn Slattery, a contributing editor of Guideposts magazine and author of several books. In the book, Kitty describes her disconnection with her mother and father, the onset of bulimia, how her husband Tom’s love and encouragement helped her overcome bulimia, and finally how Kitty reconnected with her parents.
I enjoyed this book. As a writer and speaker about the importance of connection in organizations, I was interested to see that some of the same dynamics that affect relationships in the workplace were also at play in Kitty’s story. Lost & Found helped me see several examples of how connections are diminished and how they can be restored. Excessive criticism, lack of transparency, perceived indifference, geographic dislocation and alcohol are the agents of disconnection in Kitty’s story. Kitty’s husband Tom becomes the primary agent of re-connection and it is his affection, steady optimism and encouragement that help heal her wounds and give her the strength to overcome bulimia. Eventually, with time, healing and self-reflection, Kitty is able to reconnect with her mother and father.
I recommend this book. On one level, this is Kitty’s story; on another, it is a study of the powerful effect of relationships and connection in our lives. It will be especially valuable to those who feel disconnected from their parents or other family members. I imagine most of us feel that way with at least some of our family members. It will help you think about what contributed to disconnection in your own life and how to restore it. Lost & Found is an ideal book for a book group. It would stimulate a lot of discussion around the connections and disconnections in our lives. These conversations tend to be healing too.
