Rules of Estrangement provides a detailed guide for parents looking to navigate the estrangement of a child, as well as strategies for coping when reconciliation fails.

The estrangement of an adult child can have roots in divorce, marriage, mental illness, or addiction, but it is always devastating and overwhelming for parents.

But despite the pain of estrangement, there is a roadmap toward reconciliation.

Joshua Coleman is a psychologist and a frequent guest on NPR and BBC programs.

Coleman is able to speak with particular authority on estrangement, as he was cut off from his own daughter before finding the necessary tools to work his way back into her life.

In Rules of Estrangement, Coleman combines his own experience with that of a growing number of patients lining up at his office to look for ways to reconnect with estranged children.

The author stresses that patience and empathy will usually win the day, while also making it clear that parents are not alone in the terrifying experience of estrangement from a child.