About the Project
While interviewing America’s elders about their advice for living (see Legacy Project), a common theme emerged. The biggest regret for many older adults was an estrangement with a family member. Their advice to others was to do whatever possible to reconcile with estranged relatives rather than waste years – if not decades – in anguish and despair as they had done.
The goal of this project is to combine stories from individuals who have successfully reconciled with estranged relatives with social science research, providing guidance and practical tools to help others on the path to reconciliation.
Research Components
Besides gathering stories on this website, this project has included three major research activities:
National Survey of Family Estrangement—nationally representative sample of 1,340 Americans aged 18 and older, covering all geographic regions and diverse groups.
In-Depth Interviews—largest in-depth interview study, including 300 individuals.
National Survey of Family Therapists—60 faculty members from university-based marriage and family therapy training programs.
Dr. Karl Pillemer, Director
Meet the director
Karl Pillemer, PhD, is a family sociologist and gerontologist, and the founder of the Cornell Family Estrangement & Reconciliation Project and the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA) at Cornell’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR). Dr. Pillemer is also the Hazel E. Reed Professor in Cornell’s Department of Human Development and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medicine.
His research interests center on human development over the life course, with a special emphasis on family and social relationships in middle age and beyond. Dr. Pillemer has created and tested many intervention programs, particularly in long-term care and active aging.