Voices of Children of Divorce: Their Own Words On *Feeling Caught in the Middle *Visitation and Keeping Commitments *Mom and Dad Dating and Sex *Remarriage and Stepfamilies *Their Own Future Marriages [Hardcover]

David Royko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1999

Among the scores of books concerning divorce, rarely have the voices of the innocent victims - the chldren - been heard. In Dr. David Royko's deeply moving assemblage of the kids' sometimes troubled yet revealing thoughts, we hear them at last."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I remember them arguing a lot. All the time." "My dad and mom are still real good friends." "When she married somebody else, at first it was comfortable." "It was like a shock." These are the voices of children of divorce, as compiled by David Royko, talking about issues as diverse as separation, self-blame, visitation, siblings, "Mom and Dad and Dating and Sex," stepfamilies, money, coping tactics, and fantasies of stalemate reconciliation. Over the course of three years, Royko, a divorce mediator for the Cooks County Court in Chicago, interviewed scores of children, ages 5 to 21. Their moving and insightful comments comprise this book, which is designed as a teaching tool for divorcing parents. Royko occasionally annotates these stories, pointing out for readers which elements to look for. But it is the words and emotions of the children themselves that tell the tale, and that, perhaps, can help divorcing readers protect their children from emotional harm. As Leroy, age 15, says, "When your mother and father split up, I don't care what age you are, if you love them at all, it hurts. It hurts bad." --Ericka Lutz

Review

"Among the scores of books concerning divorce, rarely have the voices of the innocent victims-- the children-- been heard. In Dr. David Royko's deeply moving assemblage of the kids' sometimes troubled yet revealing thoughts, we hear them at last."--Studs Terkel, author of Working

"The silent sounds of family breakups are captured with startling clarity by Dr. David Royko, who helps us to hear the observations and intimate revelations of those who have the least control of the process and who are most affected by it. By giving voice to those silent witnesses, Dr. Royko confirms for us working in the field-- lawyers, judges, mediators, social workers, and therapists-- the devastating impact of divorce on those least able to cope, and the need for divorcing parents to develop an awareness of the child's perspective."--Benjamin S. Mackoff, former presiding judge of the Cook County Domestic Relations Court and director of family mediation services, Schiller, Ducanto, and Fleck

"Dr. David Royko's Voices of Children of Divorce provides sage observations from the children who have been the witness of adult folly. The book is truly wonderful in that it allows children with vastly different experiences to share their perspectives with clarity and focus, in the process teaching adults how to better manage divorce."--Bennett L. Leventhal, M.D. Irving B. Harris Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Chicago

"At last we hear from that silent majority, the children who are always the victims in divorce. Dr. David Royko's collection of their candid observations should move divorcing parents to reevaluate their priorities and their behavior."--Jenny Garden, author of The (Almost) Painless Divorce: What Your Lawyer Won't Tell You

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Golden Books Adult Publishing; First Edition edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582380066
• ISBN-13: 978-1582380063
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,753,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very helpful, August 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Voices of Children of Divorce: Their Own Words On *Feeling Caught in the Middle *Visitation and Keeping Commitments *Mom and Dad Dating and Sex *Remarriage and Stepfamilies *Their Own Future Marriages (Paperback)

This book provides lots of insights into how parents and stepparents can make things better. I found it helpful as a prospective stepmother to see things from a child's perspective. Unlike many writers on divorce, the author chooses examples where things go well. Those cases are encouraging and provide positive examples to follow.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INVALUABLE!, July 4, 2006

By 

S. Owley "children's literature" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices of Children of Divorce (Hardcover)

One of the best books I have ever read on divorce. Dave Royko has captured the children's emotions, pain, relief, anger, they're all there! As someone who works with children of divorce, I found this book incredibly helpful and frequently refer individuals to it.