Customer Reviews

Help! A Girl's Guide to Divorce and Stepfamilies

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Being a stepmother of two beautiful children that came from a not so beautiful divorce, I was determined to help them understand the divorce and my role in their family. This was a wonderful book that allowed me to sit down with my stepdaughter and read the book together. The book is broken down into sections ranging all the way from feelings of divorce, mom and dad dating again, to acquring a stepmother or stepfather. Each chapter opened up with a fictional "letter to the editor" type letter written by a children asking for advice. My stepdaughter enjoyed reading the letters out loud and I would respond with reading the chapters out loud. I would end each chapter by asking her how she related and what her thoughts and feelings were. This book allows a great opportunity for stepparents to interact with their stepchildren and provides some clarification to the child as to what divorce is all about.

A wonderful book! It explains what and why girl's are feeling and thinking the way they do in a manner that is FAIR to all parties. It doesn't show bias to any individual (Mother/Father/Step Parent/Child). This book can help show a child that they are not alone and that it is normal to think and feel the way they do. It also explains when/how a parent is putting the child in the middle and how that shouldn't happen. And how a child plays both parents and shouldn't. The book stresses that the child should talk about their feelings with their parents. This book is a must have for any girl that has experienced divorce, whether it is happening now or happened 10 years ago.

After Separating, I realized things were becoming increasingly difficult for my daughter. I knew I needed help. So when I saw the title 'HELP!' I bought this book immediately. I have never been so impressed with a book. It asks the questions that kids have, but often are afraid (or unable) to ask and gives parents a way to answer - without too much information. HELP! assisted my daughter in breaking the silence with her therapist and to sort out some issues she had with her mother and me. It acts as a guidebook - informing children of some ways to speak up if they feel that their feelings are being squashed or if basic child/parent rules are being broken. HELP! even describes what some of those basic rules are. I'm actually purchasing one for my Ex-wife that she can read with our daughter. One of the best things that has come from this book is that my daughter now keeps a notebook and writes down questions for me in it, I respond to her and we bring those in to her therapists office. This approach lets us all know what important issues are on her mind, and how best to HELP! her through these difficult times. The best review though - I can't go more than a few days without being asked to read from the book.

This book is an absolutely excellent resource tool for any professional who wants to help a young girl to better cope and understand divorce. I am a psychotherapist and I give my young clients this book and I have gotten excellent feedback. Enjoy.

This book was wonderful. It opens up a dialogue for girls and allows them to ask questions and express their feelings. Most kids don't know what to ask when a divorce happens so they act out or keep it all bottled up inside. This book encourages the child to talk with their parents, teachers, counselors, friends so they can have a healthy grasp on what is going on around them. I would highly recommend this book to any girl that has been through or is going through her parent's divorce. Don't assume your children are okay just because they act okay. Get this book and allow them to see that their feelings are natural and learn ways to cope.

The most challenging question we get as divorce mediators is "how do we tell the kids?" and "how do we help them process it?" We give parents the book "Dinosaurs Divorce" for little kids but this book is good for kids who are a little older. It would be a great book to read with your child, or read before your child and then give it to her and bring up the topics so you get a chance to have a real conversation. The book offers lots of helpful tips designed to help kids adjust and it also broaches tough subjects, like jealousy, what to do if your parents are dating and you feel funny about it. All in all, this is pretty in depth for its brevity and I like the tone. We keep several copies in our client library at all time to give to parents who are struggling.

regardless of how amicable my ex and i worked to make our divorce, it still was an adult situation that our daughters had to contend with. this book was found by my then 8 year old daughter on our local library shelves. i will admit to being skeptical since it was part of the American Girl library. but, after MANY overdue fines and countless rereads, i finally opted to purchase this book. it does a great job of simply and clearly explaining a wide variety of topics without talking down to the reader. she revisits the pages often, reads them with me and shares information with her younger sister. at the risk of sounding over the top, i'm very grateful that this book is a part of my daughter's library and our lives.

There is so much horror in divorce. It's bad enough from the adults' perspective, but as a child who is catching only bits and pieces of a larger picture, it can pull the rug out from under her feet. My six-year-old daughter clung to this book for weeks, reading and absorbing the honest information on the pages. She learned how to take care of herself emotionally, how not to get pulled into a needy parent's net, how to answer questions about her parents' divorce and how to accept her new circumstances and move on with grace and dignity. Now, a few years later, we still bring it out to deal with new issues and remember how to handle old ones.

Was considering buying this until I read "emphasizes that it is usually the best solution to the parents' problems" and was shocked. Is information like this not further fueling the disintegration of family in this country. We are going to just pass on to the next generation further disregard for vows and their sacred meaning? Marriage is not about happiness. It is about how we reflect Christ in our lives within the family, and except for extreme abuse or crimes, divorce is not the best solution. The salvation of each parent is at risk and the child's world is shattered. The best solution for a marriage is problem solving within the family and the greatest gift for any child is to demonstrate how families persevere against odds and don't look for any easy way. When the country learns that divorce is not the best solution for parents' problem, part of the foundation and fabric of this nation will begin to rebuild. Divorce, typically, is the result of a hardened heart turned away from a relationship with God in order to pursue selfish and secular standards. Divorce is teaching children about failure unless their parents reconcile and then it is about His victory.