Losing a family member who is still alive is its own kind of grief. There’s no final conversation, no clear moment of goodbye — just the slow, painful realization that someone I loved has decided I no longer have a place in her life.

For a long time, I accepted her explanation that my words were the problem. They were too long. Too confusing. A messy sandwich of apology and hurt that was hard to follow.

But I don’t believe that anymore.