Thursday, May 22nd, 2025

Across The Kitchen Table by Carla Seaquist: A Profound Look into Family Estrangement

Family estrangement affects nearly 30% of American adults, an alarming figure that reflects a quiet but widespread emotional struggle. Carla Seaquist’s Across The Kitchen Table offers a moving and insightful look into this reality, capturing the pain, complexity, and potential for healing that estranged relationships often carry. Framed around the deeply personal story of a fractured mother-daughter bond, Seaquist’s book is both an intimate memoir and a universal meditation on reconciliation.

At its core, Across The Kitchen Table is much more than a personal narrative—it’s a deep reflection on the intricate nature of family ties and the emotional cost of disconnection. Drawing from her own life, Seaquist recounts the devastating loss of her daughter and the unraveling of family relationships that followed. Her writing is strikingly honest and unflinchingly raw, guiding readers through a journey marked by sorrow, self-examination, and ultimately, the search for peace.

Carla Seaquist is an acclaimed playwright, essayist, and author, renowned for her ability to dissect pressing social and cultural issues with nuance and compassion. Her acclaimed plays, including Who Cares? and Looking for Atticus, have earned her recognition for their thoughtful storytelling. She has also penned numerous essays on subjects spanning from civic engagement to personal growth, published in leading outlets. What sets Seaquist apart is her gift for bringing humanity and clarity to emotionally layered topics.

In Across The Kitchen Table, Seaquist turns that gift inward, illuminating a topic often left unspoken: the emotional terrain of familial estrangement. Through vivid storytelling, she offers readers a rare glimpse into the wounds that divide families—and the effort it takes to heal them. The book speaks directly to anyone who has experienced estrangement or struggled to reconnect with a loved one, but its themes of forgiveness, vulnerability, and empathy resonate far beyond that group.

This powerful book isn’t solely for those navigating family conflict—it is for anyone who values the strength of familial bonds and seeks deeper understanding within their relationships. Seaquist’s reflections encourage readers to confront hard truths, open lines of communication, and nurture compassion in the face of division.

Across The Kitchen Table is both a call for reconciliation and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. It reminds us that healing is possible—even after the deepest of rifts—and that sometimes, the most transformative conversations begin right at the kitchen table.

Buy the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Across-Kitchen-Table-Daughter-Tragedy-ebook/dp/B0D7F27T19/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H804EWORA1HV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aPNTijRUN-LATVVKSnuCzJdpxumduK-SB0fC5kamtclI0PAaI746suYw3qayOxqbCISOcQ04d8GQF2kNGmZKOsMzPmpfqUz6ryhqMjMxkPQ.2HWGum0U1H8IPncY6XH6WgLpWs8-orM2CRY7cjcdopM&dib_tag=se&keywords=carla+seaquist&qid=1747298132&sprefix=carla+seaquist%2Caps%2C267&sr=8-1

Watch the book trailer: https://youtu.be/lmyVYfJKPsw