On the CIC’s Rooftop: Noelle Mering’s No Contact (IN-PERSON ONLY)

THIS ROOFTOP EVENT IS OFFERED IN-PERSON ONLY (No Livestream)

Join the CIC on our building’s downtown DC rooftop on Wednesday, September 16 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT, as we host Noelle Mering for the launch of her new book, No Contact: How a Seductive Ideology Broke Families and Friendships and How We Can Repair Them.

This program is co-sponsored with the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC).

FAQS:

9/16/26 SCHEDULE?

• 6:00 PM: Check-in begins in the main foyer of the 1501 K Street Building (The Investment Building); the Rooftop Happy Hour(s) bar opens; the book is available to purchase of the rooftop.
• 6:30 PM: Noelle Mering’s presentation of No Contact with time for Q&A.
• 7:30 PM: Booksigning with Noelle Mering; the Happy Hour(s) continues.
• 8:00 PM: Evening concludes; please exit down the elevators.

BAD WEATHER?
In the event of a very rainy weather forecast, a decision will be made a couple days before the program to move into the CIC’s space on the first floor of the 1501 K Street building or change the date. If registered, check your email for updates.

VIDEO OF THIS TALK?
This program is offered in-person only, and will not be livestreamed. However, we will record this interview to be placed later on our YouTube Channel. If you would like to be emailed the recording, make your request through this online form: https://forms.gle/T9cCqCtQfXd1Sae47.

PARKING OPTIONS?
The CIC building’s garage at 1501 K Street NW (Atlantic Parking) will offer you a discounted rate of $6 to park. When arriving, tell the garage attendant you are attending the CIC’s program. Please note that the garage closes at 7:00 PM on Wednesdays. Those who park will be able to access the garage from inside the CIC’s building.

NEED TO CANCEL YOUR REGISTRATION?
Email the CIC Events team at events@cicdc.org.

About Noelle Mering’s New Book, No Contact:

From the acclaimed author of Awake, Not Woke comes this 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.

A new form of relationship estrangement is afoot. Whereas, in the past, relationships tended to rupture over issues like abuse, today, people are increasingly estranged because of politics. More than 68 million Americans are currently alienated 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 only relationships but the entire fabric of society.

In No Contact, author Noelle Mering weaves together interviews with 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 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 the pernicious ideology undermining our most intimate and necessary relationships. 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 also the foundation of a free and humane society.

No Contact is available to purchase at the CIC bookstore.