A recognized authority on youth ministry explores from a theological and spiritual standpoint the baffling sense of loss of self experienced by children of divorce.

The adults who love them want to know, "How can I help?" Based on research and interviews with single parents and children, Children of Divorce provides a sympathetic, insightful answer to their question. It shows: -How to tell your child about divorce -How children respond to divorce according to their age -How to help children grow spiritually -How parents, grandparents, church workers, and teachers can help children of divorce -- This realistic yet compassionate book tells the truth about divorce -- how it forever changes the lives of those it touches. It speaks candidly about how children respond to divorce and the changes it imposes on their lives. But Children of Divorce also tells the truth about how Christianity in action can make a difference.

Seventy now-adult children of divorce give their candid and often heart-wrenching answers to eight questions (arranged in eight chapters, by question), including: What were the main effects of your parents' divorce on your life? What do you say to those who claim that "children are resilient" and "children are happy when their parents are happy"? What would you like to tell your parents then and now? What do you want adults in our culture to know about divorce? What role has your faith played in your healing? Their simple and poignant responses are difficult to read and yet not without hope. Most of the contributors--women and men, young and old, single and married--have never spoken of the pain and consequences of their parents' divorce until now. They have often never been asked, and they believe that no one really wants to know. Despite vastly different circumstances and details, the similarities in their testimonies are striking; as the reader will discover, the death of a child's family impacts the human heart in universal ways.

"This book speaks to the adults who deal with children of divorce -- parents, therapists, attorneys, and judges -- and gets them all on the same page. The authors believe that parents and professionals should be able to communicate with a common language regarding the children of divorce. This book contains much specific advice on how to achieve basic goals: children should have a good relationship with both parents; divorced parents should find ways to make life as normal as possible for their children; and divorced parents and their children should accept the inevitable losses and disappointments and move on with their lives. Children of Divorce is organized around the use of parenting plans, agreements that are developed through the collaboration of the parents rather than imposed by a judge."--Publisher's website.

Children of divorce carry wounds into adulthood. Divorce affects our relationships to other people, our fears and longings, our faith, and our spirituality. We may have difficulties with anger, guilt, commitment or forgiveness. But our identity need not be marked only by our parents' divorce. God can enter into our woundedness and bring transformation and hope. Kristine Steakley chronicles the emotional and spiritual challenges facing adult children of divorce. She tells her own story of abandonment and estrangement with all the attendant questions of trust, self-worth and identity. But she has found that God can repair and reparent us in ways that heal and restore our relationships with ourselves, our parents and God.

If your parents divorced when you were young, you were probably affected by the breakdown fo their marriage. Divided loyalties, secrets kept from the other parent, one life lived in two separate houses—these may have been par for the course. With this guide, you will learn that the effects of the divorce are not permanently harmful. Find out how to forgive your parents, discover new ways to enrich your own relationships and learn that there are alternative realities available. Divorce experts and psychologists Jeffrey Zimmerman, Ph.D., and Elizabeth S. Thayer Ph.D., show you how to recognize how your parents’ divorce influenced your life, resulting in disruptions such as relationship failures due to financial reasons, difficulties with commitment, and repeated situations that “just don’t seem to work out.” They provide techniques to help you understand and overcome these and other issues common to adult children of divorced parents. Zimmerman and Thayer focus on helping you learn how to build self-esteem, become resilient, establish healthy boundaries, communicate clearly, open up to trust, show love, believe in commitment and deal with vulnerable feelings.

This handbook for divorced or divorcing parents presents guidelines for residence and visitation arrangements, and shared parenting, based on the child's age and development needs.