The stories within this book document how men and women-both straight and gay-have rearranged their lives to create harmonious kinship relationships and be successful parents after separation, thereby proving that divorce does not have to mean "unhappily ever after." Anchored in the author's personal experience, Wisdom for Separated Parents: Rearranging Around the Children to Keep Kinship Strong traces the long arc of family change through the actual words of men and women who have struggled through separation and co-parenting. This book provides stories from separated parents that share what they've learned from co-parenting and discovering new kinds of families, revealing insights on the process of untangling, rearranging, and "reinventing" straight and gay families. The extensive interviews in this book reach back as far as the 1950s and explain what it has meant to be separated for decades. These candid stories provide revelations on how to deal with the loss gracefully and minimize ill will, and recount the joys of having a bigger family and more kin connections. This book speaks to two different audiences: today's struggling parents, who will find valuable wisdom as they make crucial decisions about separation and divorce; and readers who have lived this history and will identify with the stories and gain insight and validation regarding their long-ago choices. Provides numerous insightful quotes derived from interviews with more than 50 parents Supplies a bibliography that covers topics such as post-separation parenting, stepfamilies, gay/lesbian parenting, transitions for adults, and the history of cultural and family change

As a toddler, Mary sustains an injury to her left eye. In elementary school, she is diagnosed with a traumatic cataract caused by a shattered lens and is advised to always wear glasses to protect her better eye. Not wanting to be teased by peers, she disguises her impairment by wearing tinted shades of various hues. These camouflages affect the way she views life and alters her perception of people and events. Believing that everyone encountered would initially focus on her eyes, she limits her social interactions and becomes an avid reader. After ending an abusive marriage to Chico, her high school and college boyfriend, and later identifying with the Hebrew Israelites, she decides to take off the colorful blinders and face life, with all of its complexities, clearly focused by going on a Caribbean cruise to reflect on her experiences in order to resolve the inner conflicts which led to years of unhappiness and deferred dreams. The Creation story in the book of Genesis guides her thinking as she desperately attempts to recreate her life by analyzing over thirty years of experiences in seven short days. It begins with her understanding the causes of her blurred vision and ends with an enlightened sense of self pride, purpose and spiritual awareness. Throughout this true adventure, she uses her visual impairment as a metaphor for the blindness she suffers as she journeys along life's path. The book is filled with tales of her family structure and social values; issues of marriage, domestic violence, infidelity, deception and divorce; the challenges of single parenting; the frustrations of religious persecution and professional discrimination; the disappointments encountered in attempts to establish friendships and develop intimate relationships; and finally the blessings of finding true love and restoring trust.

It is a challenge for parents to raise children in one home even when everyone is getting along. After a divorce-when all the mediators, attorneys, evaluators, and judges have moved on to other families-parents are left with the most difficult task of all: moving past their own conflicts and learning to raise their child in two homes.

Divorced parents often begin with the best of intentions, seeking to protect their children from hurt; even so, they often feel overwhelmed with the seemingly complex array of tasks and decisions that must be made after the dissolution of a marriage. Dr. Frank Leek is an experienced clinical and forensic psychologist (Now retired) who relies on his years of experience working with divorcing and divorced parents to offer parents twenty essential co-parenting tasks that encourage joint decisions, conflict reduction, and a focus on the well-being of children. While guiding parents through a process that often tests emotion and patience, Leek shares practical advice that helps parents effectively deal with the initial transition and the often complicated issues that follow.

The insight offered in "Shared Parenting: Beyond the Great Divide" leads divorcing parents on a healing journey where they learn to communicate effectively, share parenting responsibilities, and find workable systems that encourage a peaceful future for everyone.

Have you ever been in Stuck-Ville? Ever resigned yourself to plan B and then realized it wasn't the second chance you were looking for but merely second best? A Fascination with Forward is a must read if you are ready to put the past into perspective, pull the root of your pain right out, tackle your true/false beliefs about God, and release your plan A Does forgiveness matter? You bet This book will ensue you don't let the past cause you to miss the party. Once you have read this book, you will know you have found a friend.

The story begins with a couple and their baby moving to Albuquerque where the husband hopes to be accepted at the university. After they settle, the wife discovers that their marriage is hopelessly challenged because she doesn't want to be married to a lawyer who wins all their arguments. In her suitcase are three nuns who give her well meant, useless advice until she banishes them. "here's my parting gift to you," says her husband handing her an Italian Berretta. By then, they are living in a mountain cabin on seventeen acres.

God created marriage to be a beautiful, loving union between two people willing to make a lifelong commitment. Often, though, marriage goes wrong. Husband and wife turn on each other, and the ugliness of divorce threatens a happy home. In the case of author Raven Kane, her journey to divorce was much worse than many others.

Raven met Franklin and fell in love. They got married and had a child. Their lives seemed to be ideal, and Raven's faith in God grew as did her relationship with her husband. Yet, things are not always as they seem. Soon, it became apparent that Franklin was no longer the man she married; he was an adulterer, a liar, and he began to drink liquor heavy.

Things deteriorated rapidly, and Franklin even turned Raven's own daughter against her. When he ended up facing criminal charges, he pulled Raven into the mess. It seemed like things could not get any worse, yet Raven still had faith in a loving creator. Through the tribulations of a broken relationship, she learned it was impossible to build a marriage without God; it was impossible, even, to build a life without Him.

An out-of-the-blue phone call from a passing acquaintance sends Julie, a divorced Mother of two twenty-something sons, to a tropical paradise, an exotic paradise in the middle of the Caribbean to work and to live. What she discovers there transforms her life. Living a tranquil coexistence with the native population, not only does she discover a virtual United Nations of expatriates who become her friends, but with them she travels to Cuba and Costa Rica, to London and Scotland. She rediscovers long hidden passions; for painting, artistically creating pastel impressions of her island surroundings, and for swimming, a sport she takes up in earnest in the calm, clear azure waters that surround the tiny island. She also meets a man and falls so in love that her heart is surrundered. Along this path of blissful contentment comes the rememberances of a former, not so happy time, in which a series of tragedies after her divorce left her mired in the depths of depression. She realizes that the road back into the sun has rendered her strong, capable, happy, and healthy. But can she hold onto this new life and this new man who has entered it with such a stronghold on her heart?

It makes no difference if they are a robber or a judge, the greatest deterrent to committing wrong is by exposure. Humans will deter from doing wrong if they believe someone is watching. This book is to expose the wrong, teach some legal issues, encourage change in our laws, and hopefully keep someone else from falling into the same snares. Bernie's greatest desire for publishing this book is to see his children again who he has been wrongfully deprived from for well over two years.

Almendro is a true story about the life of the author and how so much can go so wrong in a short time. We all have dreams but how many come to pass? Laura had two. She wanted a good marriage and a happy home for the two families that tried to blend together to become one. Her second dream was to live out the Golden Years on an exotic island in the Caribbean. She got her first wish when she married Jim but he wasn't what she wanted to believe he was. Laura got her second wish when the couple moved to that exotic island when they retired. It was here where the bottom fell out of both dreams and for Laura the struggle to survive began. Jim met Sheila before Laura ran off to Dominica with Gavin. Sheila wanted Laura's life and everything she and Jim owned and Jim wanted to destroy his wife in any way he could. He joined forces with the psychopathic woman who betrayed him from the beginning but he was too blinded by need and revenge to see it. When Sheila realized Laura was a threat to her plan, there was only one choice to make. Get rid of Laura. Forced to live in isolation in fear for her life, Laura lived alone in the jungles of Dominica until she met the man who captured her heart and saved her life in many ways. The Afro Caribbean people took her into their care and taught her what she needed to know and gave her the strength to carry on. When Jim died mysteriously, Laura didn't have to ask how or why. She put on her armour, picked up her sword and returned to the island she once called home. She declared war on Sheila and was willing to die to keep her dream.