Losing a Child While They’re Still Alive: Navigating Estrangement, Addiction & Ambiguous Loss

Advisory: This episode includes sensitive discussion about addiction, family estrangement, and emotional loss.

This week on Fostering Change, host Rob Scheer welcomes back two dear friends — Julie and David Bulitt — for one of the most personal and moving conversations of the season. Rob and his husband Reece have known the Bulitts for many years, and their honesty, humor, and heart have made them audience favorites.

Julie is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 30 years of experience in family therapy, and David is a leading family-law attorney in the D.C. metro area who has spent decades helping parents and children navigate painful transitions. Together, they’ve raised four daughters, built nearly 40 years of marriage, co-authored two acclaimed books (The Five Core Conversations for Couples and Secrets of Strong Couples), and co-host the podcast Conversations for Couples.

In this emotional and thought-provoking episode, Rob, Julie, and David explore what it means to lose a child while they’re still alive — to addiction, estrangement, or emotional distance — and how families can begin to heal.

Topics discussed include:

* Ambiguous loss: Grieving a child who is still living and learning to coexist with that pain.

* Addiction and family systems: How substance use can fracture relationships, redefine love, and challenge every parent’s hope.

* Parenting through heartbreak: “We can love our children fiercely and still have to let go,” Julie shares. “Healing doesn’t mean forgetting — it means finding peace with what is.”

* Balancing love and self-protection: “You reach a point where love also means protecting yourself and your family from chaos,” David reflects.

* Hope beyond the silence: Grace, therapy, and community as pathways to reconnection.

This episode is a testament to honesty, empathy, and the complicated beauty of parenthood. If you or someone you love is struggling with a similar loss, may this conversation offer comfort and understanding.

👉 Learn more about Julie & David Bulitt:Website: www.thebulitts.comPodcast: Conversations for CouplesFacebook: @TheBulittsInstagram: @thebulittsTikTok: @thebulitts

🎧 After you listen, please like, comment, and share this episode so more families can discover stories of resilience, hope, and healing.

We’re back every Tuesday with a new episode of Fostering Change.

Have a guest suggestion or feedback? Email us at [e-mail].

Next week, we kick off our National Adoption Awareness Month series — celebrating families built through love and the thousands of children still waiting for theirs.

Thank you for listening — and for being a GOOD HUMAN. 💙

🎥 Watch the full video episodes on YouTube!

Head over to Comfort Cases on YouTube to catch every inspiring conversation:

👉 youtube.com/@comfortcases

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.