Boy,
I'm reading the comments for the article about parent / child estrangement and it's just gut wrenching. I don't know if this will ever happen with me, but I've seen some of this in other people's lives, and it's difficult to deal with.
Anyway, here's the link to the article:
http://www.well.blog.nytimes.com/2010/05/03
"When the ties that binds unravel"