Divorce is at once a widespread reality and a painful decision, so it is no surprise that this landmark study of its long-term effects should both spark debate and find a large audience. In this compelling, thought-provoking book, Judith Wallerstein explains that, while children do learn to cope with divorce, it in fact takes its greatest toll in adulthood, when the sons and daughters of divorced parents embark on romantic relationships of their own. Wallerstein sensitively illustrates how children of divorce often feel that their relationships are doomed, seek to avoid conflict, and fear commitment. Failure in their loving relationships often seems to them preordained, even when things are going smoothly. As Wallerstein checks in on the adults she first encountered as youngsters more than twenty-five years ago, she finds that their experiences mesh with those of the millions of other children of divorce, who will find themselves on every page. With more than 100,000 copies in print, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce spent three weeks on the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Denver Post bestseller lists. The book was also featured on two episodes of Oprah as well as on the front cover of Time and the New York Times Book Review.

In the spirit of Conscious Uncoupling comes a guide for a child-centered approach to parenting after divorce—known as nesting—that will change what it looks like to move forward as a family after a marriage ends. Research suggests when a couple separates, children suffer the most, as they’re typically shuttled back and forth between two different homes. When Beth Behrendt and her husband divorced, she found a better way: She gave her children custody of the home, while she and her husband moved around. After successfully implementing more than six years of what’s known as “nesting,” Behrendt has created a step-by-step guide for divorcing parents to introduce the practice in their own families. In Nesting After Divorce, Behrendt provides a co-parenting program that can start when an unhappily married couple considers the pros and cons of a nesting divorce. She offers advice on deciding whether nesting is the right choice for a family and communicating the concept to a spouse, children, friends, and family. She outlines the steps for assembling a nesting “team” of legal, financial, and mental health professionals and even shows how, surprisingly, nesting is often a more affordable approach to divorce than the traditional two-home model. Behrendt’s divorce book expands upon her viral 2017 New York Times essay “After Divorce, Giving Our Kids Custody of the Home,” and is the perfect guide for anyone seeking a healthy, amicable divorce for their family.

Couples spend an enormous amount of time and energy planning for the perfect wedding. But what about planning for the perfect marriage? In these times of rampant divorce and "relationship" crises, it makes sense to think seriously about the many challenges of married life that loom so large today. The Book of Marriage offers a treasury of marital wisdom from across the ages. Intellectually engaging, morally rich, and ideologically balanced, this anthology gathers some of the deepest, wittiest, and most edifying perspectives on the big questions of married life: Why get married at all? Can love last a lifetime? How do we handle money? Who's the boss? What about children? Conflict? Growing old? Illness and death? There is even a chapter on divorce -- one calculated to save a few marriages. To date there has been no single comprehensive book of source readings on marriage and family life. Assembled with the aid of noted scholars from various fields, this volume treats marriage as more than just a relationship -- as an institution, a vocation, and a source of great spiritual and emotional rewards. Each chapter introduces a different quandary of marriage and then culls the best from ancient and modern writings on the theme. The compendium of cultural wisdom on marriage ranges from the Bible and Eastern wisdom to Aristotle, St. Augustine, Maimonides, and Judith Wallerstein; from Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Jane Austen to Edward Albee, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Bill Cosby. An important resource for young adults, college students, engaged and married couples, educators, marriage counselors, therapists, pastors, and other family professionals, The Book of Marriage celebrates the diversity and essential humanity of the marital experience in a way that is accessible, entertaining, and eminently useful.

Children of Divorce features excerpts of stories collected from hundreds of young people. The narratives embrace such themes as despair, chaos in the family, and "missing" dads. The volume paints a picture of the pain, the hope, and the resiliency shown by young adults while in the throes of divorce and in the years to follow. These poignant narratives are framed by an analysis of the most recent divorce literature. The book clearly demonstrates the value of storytelling in helping people deal with major loss events in their lives. The authors' hope is that by examining these experiences, we will gain a greater understanding of the effects of divorce and ultimately strengthen relationships in the future. This book challenges the contention that most children will be irretrievably hurt by their parents' divorce. Presenting a mixture of young people's voices demonstrating the great variety of reactions to parental divorce, it shows the strength and resilience many of these young people have learned in surviving the pain surrounding divorce in their families. Emphasis is placed on how hope about the possibilities of having close relationships--as well as a willingness to try to have stronger families in their own adult lives--represent abiding motivations in this sample of young people. Providing an overarching theoretical emphasis on the value of storytelling for people dealing with major losses, the authors hope that this method of stressing the raw input of respondents will make the experiences more vivid and realistic to the reader.

Traumatic Divorce and Separation integrates the conflicting mental health perspectives concerning trauma theory and the study of divorce, in what the author has termed "traumatic divorce" -- that is, divorce complicated by the high-risk factors of domestic violence, mental illness, and/or substance abuse. The text's interdisciplinary discussion examines issues of financial disparities for women following divorce, traumatic symptoms in children and adults, and the legal controversies about the admissibility of psychological theories related to abuse. The author also addresses: domestic violence as a gendered crime against women; the need for a trauma-informed judicial response; and the need for a systemic judicial response that incorporates an understanding of domestic violence and child maltreatment to provide services and protections. The book is an invaluable resource for professionals and academics in social work, forensic psychology, law, and related mental health fields, as well as academics interested in gender based discrimination in the courts.

Clinical psychologist and author of The Defining Decade, Meg Jay takes us into the world of the supernormal: those who soar to unexpected heights after childhood adversity. Whether it is the loss of a parent to death or divorce; bullying; alcoholism or drug abuse in the home; mental illness in a parent or a sibling; neglect; emotional, physical or sexual abuse; having a parent in jail; or growing up alongside domestic violence, nearly 75% of us experience adversity by the age of 20. But these experiences are often kept secret, as are our courageous battles to overcome them. Drawing on nearly two decades of work with clients and students, Jay tells the tale of ordinary people made extraordinary by these all-too-common experiences, everyday superheroes who have made a life out of dodging bullets and leaping over obstacles, even as they hide in plain sight as doctors, artists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, parents, activists, teachers, students and readers. She gives a voice to the supernormals among us as they reveal not only "How do they do it?" but also "How does it feel?" These powerful stories, and those of public figures from Andre Agassi to Jay Z, will show supernormals they are not alone but are, in fact, in good company. Marvelously researched and compassionately written, this exceptional book narrates the continuing saga that is resilience as it challenges us to consider whether -- and how -- the good wins out in the end.