Joseph Massey Reconnected With Estranged Family After 10 Years, Aided by 'Little House on the Prairie'
Updated
Updated · The FP · Jul 10
Joseph Massey Reconnected With Estranged Family After 10 Years, Aided by 'Little House on the Prairie'
2 articles · Updated · The FP · Jul 10
Summary
Seven years ago, poet Joseph Massey resumed contact with his mother and stepfather after a decade-long estrangement, he writes in a weekly literary column tied to Netflix's new "Little House on the Prairie" adaptation.
Massey says the original television series helped him pursue that reunion in 2019 as he tried to rebuild a sense of self and home after being pushed out of mainstream arts and letters during the #MeToo movement.
His account roots the break in a violent, unstable upbringing outside Philadelphia: divorced parents, a stepfather prone to screaming and punching holes in walls, and a family shaped by factory work, addiction and broken homes.
The essay uses the show's family-centered vision as a lens on reconciliation, turning the Netflix revival into a reflection on memory, damage and the possibility of repair.