In Others’ Words: The Uniqueness of Sister Relationships
Ah, the complicated bonds between sisters …
The shared history of family memories can pull sisters closer … and at other times, the same events can push sisters apart.
As sisters grow up and become independent, comparison and competition may flare, straining once comfortable familial closeness.
Add a secret to the mix — like I do with the Thatcher sisters in my novel, Things I Never Told You, which celebrates its one month birthday on June 8 — and relationships become all the more messy. Secrets distort relationships, hindering communication and closeness. Sometimes family members enmeshed in the secret may feel like guests invited to some mystery party, without any directions of how to interact.
When we know someone well, we often think we are safe with that person. But that isn’t always the case. Familiarity doesn’t always equal safety. Remember the words of the classic song by the Mills Brothers? “You always hurt the one you love.” Those lyrics refer to romantic love, yes, but the words can also apply to the power of family relationships — and more specifically, to sister relationships.
Intimacy born out of close sister relationships provides you the insight … the power … to know exactly how to hurt your sister like no one else can. You know your sister’s weaknesses. You know how to push her buttons to make her cry … or to make her angry … or to shame her into silence.
As I wrote Things I Never Told You and released it into the world, I heard stories of sisters who love and stand by one another … and sisters who, yes, have hurt one another. Most often, the stories I heard were a mix of pulling one another close and then one another pushing away.
There’s no denying the power of sister relationships … and there’s no simple way to define sister relationships, either. It all comes down to choices … and sometimes, when secrets are involved, truth and consequences.
But that’s another blog post.
In Your Words: One thing’s for certain: Sister relationships are not neutral. I’ve shared some thoughts on sister relationships today — and written a novel about them (with a second one coming out next May!) What are some of your thoughts about sister relationships?
In Others' Words: The Uniqueness of Sister Relationships http://bit.ly/2sMRBEn #sisters #relationships
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'#Sisters, as you know, have a unique #relationship. This is the person who has known you your entire life, who should love you and stand by you no matter what ...' quote by Lisa See http://bit.ly/2sMRBEn
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GOODREADS GIVEAWAY: Enter the Goodreads Giveaway from June 1-30 for a chance to win one of the 100 Kindle ebooks of my latest release, Things I Never Told You.
Enter the June 1-30 #GoodReadsGiveaway to win one of the 100 #Kindle ebooks of Things I Never Told You by award-winning author @bethvogt. @LibraryJournal praised this novel for its “emotionally rich drama.” https://buff.ly/2LcUDcW
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