Divorce: The Ultimate Teen Guide: 41 (It Happened to Me)

This volume in the publisher's long-established It Happened to Me series for teens facing hardships takes on divorce and its many ramifications. In her usual straightforward style, Gay addresses the gamut, from unhappy home life before divorce through custody matters, postdivorce lifestyle and living arrangements, and reflections by adults who lived in divorced families in their teen years. Gay covers a wide array of circumstances as well, including the legal and social realities affecting the children of divorced same-sex couples, youth with incarcerated or otherwise long-absent parents, and stepfamilies. Informative sidebars get into detail about specific situations, such as learning household finances, and a helpful list of resources, including many websites offering creative outlets and practical advice, is included. Though the photos are occasionally stiff and staged and guidance for determining whether a website is credible would have been a helpful addition, this volume nonetheless will offer plenty of help for those interested in reaching out to kids suffering through a divorce as well as enterprising teens seeking out resources on their own. * Booklist * Divorce: The Ultimate Teen Guide is designed with the high school age student in mind who wants a broad overview of the emotional issues that a teen may experience while going through a divorce within their family. While the teenage years are a time of great emotional and psychological change, there are many issues that may arise for the teen from a divorced family, including how to manage parental conflicts, financial challenges the family may face, placing blame and taking sides, and living in a stepfamily. Information in this work is presented through the personal stories of teens and young adults who have lived through these experiences; most of the stories focus on teenagers who have experienced the divorce of their parents and the various emotions and steps they took to resolve them. Within there are stories on children's rights in divorce, splitting holidays between parents, and communicating with a parent who is out of state. This revised edition has added discussion questions at the end of each chapter to help teens verbalize their questions, up-to-date statistics, and first-hand advice from professionals. Teens who are experiencing strong emotions surrounding their parent's divorce and who have questions about how others have handled the questions behind living in this new family reality will find this guide useful. The personal experiences shared in this book will appeal to this target audience and could be useful for students this age researching this topic. * American Reference Books Annual *

It has been estimated that at least half of the children in America come from families that have been affected by divorce. Of those children, more than half will see a parent's second marriage dissolve as well. The impact of divorce on teens can be devastating, adversely affecting their attitudes, behaviors, and schoolwork, as well as their relationships with both friends and family. Divorce: The Ultimate Teen Guide focuses on the difficulties young people face in the wake of an epidemic that affects so many families. This book offers encouragement, insights, and resources to help teens cope with the challenges that come from living with divorce. Chapters address such issues as: *Managing parental conflicts *Financial concerns *Communication problems *Placing blame and taking sides *Depression *Living in a stepfamily Featuring stories about and quotes from young people and adults who have experienced parental separation and divorce, this book will be helpful for readers who are trying to deal with similar situations. With an emphasis on strategies and resources, Divorce: The Ultimate Teen Guide will help young people cope with this often devastating experience.