Is there really such a thing as a "good divorce"? Determined to uncover the truth, Elizabeth Marquardt--herself a child of divorce--conducted, with Professor Norval Glenn, a pioneering national study of children of divorce, surveying 1,500 young adults from both divorced and intact families between 2001 and 2003. In "Between Two Worlds," she weaves the findings of that study together with powerful, unsentimental stories of the childhoods of young people from divorced families.
The hard truth, she says, is that while divorce is sometimes necessary, even amicable divorces sow lasting inner conflict in the lives of children. When a family breaks in two, children who stay in touch with both parents must travel between two worlds, trying alone to reconcile their parents' often strikingly different beliefs, values, and ways of living. Authoritative, beautifully written, and alive with the voices of men and women whose lives were changed by divorce, Marquardt's book is essential reading for anyone who grew up "between two worlds."
"Makes a persuasive case against the culture of casual divorce."""--"Washington Post
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"A poignant narrative of her own experience . . . Marquardt says she and other young adults who grew up in the divorce explosion of the 1970s and 1980s are still dealing with wounds that they could never talk about with their parents."--"Chicago Tribune
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"State of Our Unions 2009 "seeks to answer the following questions: How is the Great Recession affecting the institution of marriage, as measured by changes in marriage and divorce rates in the United States? How do family finances---especially credit card debt and family assets---shape the quality and stability of contemporary married life in America? What does evolutionary psychology and the contemporary study of finance have to tell us about the best division of financial labor for husbands and wives? Is the Great Recession likely to foster egalitarian relationships between husbands and wives?

"The State of Our Unions 2012: The President's Marriage Agenda" suggests family policies for our next president, whomever he may be. Leading scholars of marriage and family here come together to offer a fresh set of policy recommendations to whomever the nation elects this fall--or indeed, in the future. "State of Our Unions" is an annual report that monitors the health of marriage in America, analyzes the cultural and social forces affecting married life in the U.S., and identifies cultural and policy strategies to strengthen the institution of marriage.