hit (one) close to home

To affect one deeply and emotionally because one can relate very closely. My patient's lung cancer diagnosis hits me close to home because my uncle recently died of the same thing. Because I was bullied as a kid, I teared up when my son told me that he gets teased at school—it just hits me so close to home. My parents had a very contentious divorce, so the tense relationship between my husband and his ex-wife hits me pretty close to home.

hit close to home

To affect one deeply and emotionally because one can relate very closely to what happened. My patient's diagnosis hits especially close to home, as my uncle recently died of the same thing. I was badly bullied as a kid, so I instantly teared up when my son told me that he gets teased at school—it just hit so close to home. My parents had a very contentious divorce, so the tense relationship between my husband and his ex-wife hits pretty close to home.