{"id":107208,"date":"2023-07-09T12:20:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-09T16:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=107208"},"modified":"2023-07-11T17:30:34","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T21:30:34","slug":"dysfunctional-family-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What common patterns in dysfunctional families would you recognize? What can you do personally to improve your relationship with your family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each family is unique in its own way, and all of them come with their own problems. As Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz point out in <em>The Good Life<\/em>, these problems usually arise from negative patterns that get passed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at how to unlearn these dysfunctional family patterns to improve relational dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dysfunctional-family-patterns\">Dysfunctional Family Patterns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Waldinger and Schulz assert that having a positive relationship with the family you grew up in heavily impacts your life. After all, you\u2019ve known these people your whole life, so they provide a type of support that you cannot find anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Waldinger and Schulz clarify that this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that you had a happy childhood. The authors acknowledge that our childhoods dramatically impact our ability to maintain healthy relationships\u2014primarily because, as kids, we learn from our families how to handle our emotions. But, as the authors point out, we can also <em>unlearn <\/em>the dysfunctional family patterns our families taught us and replace them with healthier patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: To unlearn the negative patterns your family taught you, you first need to understand them. This is particularly important if you\u2019re a parent. The authors of <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-whole-brain-child\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Whole-Brain Child<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>recommend that you <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-whole-brain-child\/chapter-6#tips-for-parents-for-strong-connections-with-their-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reflect on the wounds that produced your parents\u2019 behavior<\/a> and how their behavior affected you. You\u2019ll thus learn something from your childhood experience and be deliberate about your approach to parenting. If you don\u2019t practice this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-self-reflect\/\">self-reflection<\/a>, you risk repeating the negative pattern with your own child.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Waldinger and Schulz, a key step to unlearning these patterns is to <strong>be open to the possibility that people will surprise you<\/strong>. In both familial and non-familial relationships, doing this frees you up to perceive when people <em>aren\u2019t <\/em>behaving as badly as you expect, which can help break down damaging assumptions you learned as a child. This openness is particularly helpful in familial relationships because it encourages us to notice and acknowledge when our family members have undergone personal growth\u2014something most of us struggle to recognize in people we\u2019ve known our whole lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, say your mother constantly criticized your dad when you were a kid. So as an adult, you develop a negative pattern of regularly criticizing the people you love. One day when you\u2019re grown, you notice that your father bought the wrong brand of milk. But instead of loudly criticizing him, your mother simply puts the milk away. You only noticed this small change because you were open to the possibility that your parents <em>could<\/em> change. Not only do you reconsider your belief that your mother constantly criticizes her family, but you also reconsider how you behave when your husband messes up\u2014and the next time he does, you remember your mom\u2019s gesture and choose not to criticize him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>How Your Mindset Affects Your Relationships<\/strong><br><br>In <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/mindset\/1-page-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Mindset<\/em><\/a>, Carol Dweck argues that <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/mindset\/1-page-summary#the-two-mindsets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people have one of two mindsets when viewing the world<\/a>. If you have a <em>fixed<\/em> mindset, you believe that people\u2019s abilities are innate and unchangeable. If you have a <em>growth<\/em> mindset, you believe that anybody can improve upon the abilities that they\u2019re born with. So if you think your family is incapable of changing, you may have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/fixed-mindset-examples\/\">fixed mindset<\/a>.&nbsp;<br><br>This may be true even if you have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/growth-mindset-characteristics\/\">growth mindset<\/a> regarding how people <em>outside<\/em> your family behave. Dweck explains that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kirstenskaboodle.com\/how-to-avoid-the-pitfalls-that-lead-to-false-growth-mindset\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">people fall into different mindsets in different areas<\/a>, so you may only have a fixed mindset when dealing with your family. To <a href=\"https:\/\/shortform.com\/app\/book\/mindset\/1-page-summary#begin-adjusting-your-mindset\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">change your mindset<\/a>, Dweck recommends that you name your fixed-mindset persona. Then, have an imaginary conversation and argue against it when it pops up\u2014such as by reminding your fixed-mindset persona that people can change when your family behaves differently than you expected.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Another key to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-improve-your-relationships-2\/\">improving your relationships<\/a>, according to Waldinger and Schulz, is to <strong>have regularly set family time<\/strong> to ensure that you continue to connect with each other despite how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/busy-lifestyle\/\">busy life<\/a> gets. If you\u2019re all living in the same place, the authors recommend instituting regular family meals. If not, having a regular video meeting can help maintain some connection, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Other experts have alternate suggestions for making the most of your family time. If you all live in the same place, <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2021\/04\/are-you-spending-your-parenting-time-and-energy-wisely#:~:text=bring%20your%20family%20together%20to%20see,and%20time%20such%20as%20Sunday%20morning%20at\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prioritize the activities that both <em>you <\/em>and your <em>family members<\/em> value most<\/a>. For example, your teenager may not care about family dinner but love when you play games together. If you don\u2019t live in the same place, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebump.com\/a\/toddler-build-relationships-video-chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experiment with different video chat formats to make them age appropriate<\/a>. For example, your toddler will likely stay on the call longer with her aunt if the aunt brings a puppet.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What common patterns in dysfunctional families would you recognize? What can you do personally to improve your relationship with your family? Each family is unique in its own way, and all of them come with their own problems. As Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz point out in The Good Life, these problems usually arise from negative patterns that get passed down. Let&#8217;s look at how to unlearn these dysfunctional family patterns to improve relational dynamics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":16198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[1089],"class_list":["post-107208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-the-good-life","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Doll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\"},\"headline\":\"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\"},\"wordCount\":823,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Good Life\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\",\"name\":\"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937\",\"name\":\"Katie Doll\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Doll\"},\"description\":\"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood - Shortform Books","description":"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood","og_description":"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Doll","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Doll","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Doll","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937"},"headline":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood","datePublished":"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00","dateModified":"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/"},"wordCount":823,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","keywords":["The Good Life"],"articleSection":["Psychology","Self-Improvement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/","name":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-09T16:20:04+00:00","dateModified":"2023-07-11T21:30:34+00:00","description":"You might not be a stranger to dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to replace these patterns with healthy ones and turn the tide around.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/dysfunctional-family-patterns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Unlearn Dysfunctional Family Patterns in Adulthood"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e1b539e89423b544ede91ab2bff937","name":"Katie Doll","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6239731a3fc739640b80be30f2b1727a055d3535d0ee4569e8282faa323e47fc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Doll"},"description":"Somehow, Katie was able to pull off her childhood dream of creating a career around books after graduating with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing. Her preferred genre of books has changed drastically over the years, from fantasy\/dystopian young-adult to moving novels and non-fiction books on the human experience. Katie especially enjoys reading and writing about all things television, good and bad.","knowsAbout":["Bachelor of Arts in English With a Concentration in Creative Writing"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/katie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/walls-family-now-the-glass-castle-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107208"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107799,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107208\/revisions\/107799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}