No Contact

An incisive exposé of the widespread, politically motivated “no contact” movement that deconstructs the ideology behind this trend and equips readers to avert estrangement and repair broken relationships from the acclaimed author of Awake, Not Woke

There is a new form of relationship estrangement afoot. While in the past, relationships tended to rupture over issues like abuse, today increasingly people are estranged because of politics. More than 68 million Americans are currently estranged from close family members. Though going “no contact” is frequently framed as an act of empowerment and self-care, behind the numbers are millions of hurting people—and an ideology that threatens not just relationships but the entire fabric of society.

In No Contact, author Noelle Mering weaves interviews and historical research to identify five major factors that have given rise to the no contact movement: identity politics, demythologization of the family, therapeutic culture, infallibility of victimhood, and cultural narcissism alongside spiritual decline. By laying bare the forces behind this destabilizing movement—and how they affect us on personal, familial, and social levels—Mering helps readers to see clearly what is happening, confront it, and work with their families to heal, repair, and strengthen relationships.

More than just a critique, this book is a call to action. By bringing light to an experience that is often shrouded in shame or presented far too reductively to a cheering online audience, No Contact empowers readers with a clear-eyed and compassionate perspective that rejects zero-sum political polarization and coerced silence and avoidance. The stakes are high. If we cannot hold fast to one another in the face of disagreement, we risk losing not only our most intimate bonds, but the foundation of a free and humane society.