There is a particular kind of hurt in feeling as though you don’t belong in your own family.

Being excluded, unwanted or rejected by the people who were supposed to love and protect you can leave a wound that does not simply disappear with age.

Sometimes distance between siblings does not happen naturally. It can be shaped by comparison, favouritism, withheld information, divided loyalties or different versions of the same story. Even years later, those divisions may continue to be encouraged.

You can tell yourself you are better off without the relationship. You can build a full life, surround yourself with people who care and understand that their behaviour was never a reflection of your worth.

And yet, sometimes it still hurts.

Not because you want to return to what harmed you, but because it is natural to grieve the family relationships you should have been able to have.