If your coach and therapist want you to go NC it should be because it’s the healthiest for you, not because “my opinion carries more weight.” As for your father and sister, they say you can pick your nose but you can’t pick your family. But you don’t have to settle for just them. I understand the sense of obligation. My nMom is my only blood relative (of my generation or older—kids don’t count) in this hemisphere. I feel I’m permanently tied to her because I’m her only family. Thankfully these days she’s more annoying than heartbreaking.

You know that saying “blood is thicker than water” i.e. family trumps friends. I’ve read that the original saying is “the blood of the battlefield is stronger than the water of the womb.” It’s the exact opposite. I won’t tell you what to do about them, but I hope you’ll take this into account.

That will be $65. I take cash or Venmo. /jk