"The Good Divorce" Book
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Keeping Your Family Together When Your Marriage Comes Apart
The good divorce? Impossible? …
In this provocative groundbreaking and authoritative book, internationally acclaimed social scientist and family therapist Constance Ahrons defines the good divorce and shows how couples can achieve one.
Counteracting the myths that divorce inevitably turns adults into bitter enemies, results in damaged children and broken homes, and rips apart the fabric of society, Dr. Ahrons focuses on what we can learn from those families that maintain family bonds and continue to meet the needs of their children.
Drawing on her two decades of landmark research and clinical practice with families of divorce, Dr. Ahrons makes clear that in order to improve the lives of half the families in America we must:
- remove the stigma of divorce
- redefine the divorced family as a “binuclear,” rather than a “single parent” family
- regard “family values” as the cornerstone to healthy families, whether they are binuclear or nuclear
- help parents and children establish new roles, rules, and rituals to support the new family structure
- take advantage of divorce strategies and parenting solutions that help–rather than hinder–healthy development
Dr. Ahrons gives us more than ideas for self-help, she walks us through the lives of families at every stage of divorce to teach us how to make the most of the families we know we have, rather than dreaming in vain for an unattainable ideal. The Good Divorce serves as a powerful tonic for the millions of couples and parents, whether they are divorcing now or have been divorced for many years, who are tired of hearing only the damage reports. Here is a hopeful, practical book, neither pro-divorce nor anti-marriage, that will change the way we think about divorce and the way we divorce, reconfirming our commitment to children and families.
“Based on groundbreaking research, Ahrons shows couples how they can move beyond the early stages of breakup and learn to deal with the transition from a nuclear to a ‘bi-nuclear’ family…. Speaks directly to the needs of families.” ~ Family and Conciliation Courts Review