The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: The 25 Year Landmark Study
During the last 40 years, our society's views on how families are  created and how they operate has undergone a tremendous shift. InThe  Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, authors Judith Wallerstein, Julia Lewis, and  Sandra Blakeslee have assembled a variety of stories from people of different  ages and life stages. Some are children of divorce, some are from families that  stayed unhappily intact, but all of them offer valuable information important to  all of us as parents, children, and members of society at large. Separate  chapters focus on the different roles children take on in the event of a divorce  or unhappy marriage, ranging from positive role model to deeply troubled  adolescent. In many cases, the people interviewed continue to define themselves  as children of divorce up to 30 years after the occurrence; this is described by  one subject as "sort of a permanent identity, like being adopted or  something."Both encouraging and thought-provoking, the final chapter questions how we  maintain the freedom made possible by divorce while, at the same time,  minimizing the damage. The authors' response to this question begins with  pragmatic suggestions about strengthening marriage--not bland "family values"  rhetoric but practical how-to ideas combined with national policy initiatives  that have been making the rounds for years. With fascinating stories and  statistics, Wasserstein, Lewis, and Blakeslee have illuminated the improvements  within reach while our society experiences these massive changes in it's most  fundamental relationships.--Jill Lightner