I think we have to differentiate between the families we start and the one that started us. I’ve got a great marriage and kids, but no one can choose their parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. The family we don’t/can’t choose is most often the source of unhappiness, I think.

Not entirely. The families that started us often leave us midway, so surely we can recover from whatever disadvantage we think they gave us. But the ones we started are far more crucial because we look up to them as a more compensatory source of happiness. I maybe wrong though.