Not Your Mother's Divorce: A Practical, Girlfriend-to-Girlfriend Guide to Surviving the End of a Young Marriage [Paperback]

Kay Moffett (Author), Sarah Touborg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 2003

No matter what your age, divorce is one of life’s greatest challenges. But while your parents, friends, and lawyers may be chock-full of advice, the truth is that young women who divorce today face a brand-new set of issues and possibilities far removed from those of women a generation before. If you’re looking for a fresh, empowering, and thoroughly modern guide to starting this new chapter of your life, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers the ultimate roadmap—from wading through legal jargon to getting back into society—as told by your best girlfriends who’ve been there.

Based on the experiences of more than thirty women who divorced in their twenties and thirties without children, Not Your Mother’s Divorce offers camaraderie and practical counsel on:
Breaking the news to family and friends
Coping with sudden singledom—from living arrangements to changing your name
Protecting yourself financially and dividing your assets
Legalese 101—making the legal process work for you
Reentering the dating scene
How to handle encounters with your ex

Warm and insightful, Not Your Mother’s Divorce gives you the tools to find your way through this difficult time—and emerge a stronger, wiser, happier you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By offering up pithy and poignant descriptions of their own early divorces, Sarah Touborg and Kay Moffett have infused their new guide with enough humor and detail to give it the life-like quality of literature. ...Offering brass-tacks advice on legal and financial matters with enough life experience and empathy to qualify them as 'experts,' the authors console and teach with real insight and sensitivity for those going through one of life's biggest hardships, and every divorcee would benefit from reading this engrossing, chatty guide."
-- BUST, December 2003

"Moffett and Touborg understand what it's like to deal with sudden "singledom" and the feelings that accompany it. In their down-to-earth guide, they help young divorcees tackle both legal and emotional problems in a tone that is by turns chatty and straightforward. Overwhelming issues are discussed with authority and sensitivity. Highly recommended."
--Library Journal, October 1, 2003

"They [the authors] offer compassionate and no-nonsense advice on everything from sharing the news about the breakup, and what to do with the wedding album, to re-entering the dating world and getting re-married."
--Bergen Record, August 5, 2003

"Not Your Mother's Divorce offers the best kind of book therapy: comforting, informative, and practical advice for a new generation of divorcees."
--Pamela Paul, author of The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony

"Not Your Mother's Divorce is a witty, knowledgeable and compassionate book. A standout performance."
--Mel Krantzler, Ph.D., author of The New Creative Divorce

"Twenty-something never-marrieds have their guides and gurus, as do their older newly-single counterparts. But how does Holly go lightly back into the world when her starter marriage ends? Moffett and Toubourg's witty, informed, true-to-real-life handbook will tell her everything she needs to know, all tied up with a big shiny bow of we've-been-there compassion."
--Lynn Harris, co-creator of BreakupGirl.net and author of Breakup Girl to the Rescue! A Superhero's Guide to Love, and Lack Thereof

From the Inside Flap

No matter what your age, divorce is one of life?s greatest challenges. But while your parents, friends, and lawyers may be chock-full of advice, the truth is that young women who divorce today face a brand-new set of issues and possibilities far removed from those of women a generation before. If you?re looking for a fresh, empowering, and thoroughly modern guide to starting this new chapter of your life, Not Your Mother?s Divorce offers the ultimate roadmap?from wading through legal jargon to getting back into society?as told by your best girlfriends who?ve been there.

Based on the experiences of more than thirty women who divorced in their twenties and thirties without children, Not Your Mother?s Divorce offers camaraderie and practical counsel on:
Breaking the news to family and friends
Coping with sudden singledom?from living arrangements to changing your name
Protecting yourself financially and dividing your assets
Legalese 101?making the legal process work for you
Reentering the dating scene
How to handle encounters with your ex

Warm and insightful, Not Your Mother?s Divorce gives you the tools to find your way through this difficult time?and emerge a stronger, wiser, happier you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767913507
• ISBN-13: 978-0767913508
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Law > Family & Health Law > Divorce & Separation

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST-READ for anyone going through a divorce, March 16, 2006

By 

JM (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Your Mother's Divorce: A Practical, Girlfriend-to-Girlfriend Guide to Surviving the End of a Young Marriage (Paperback)

At 32 years old, I'm the first one of my friends to go through a divorce (after 5 years of marriage), and while my girlfriends were tremedously supportive of me, none of them have ever gone through something like this and there are some things that only someone who has survived a divorce can understand. This book was like an old friend, comforting me, guiding me through the process, assuring me that everything I was feeling was normal and to be expected. A year later, it still sits on my nightstand, battered and highlighted in yellow marker, being read and re-read whenever I need support. Of course, this book is not substitute for therapy, but I don't think I could have gotten through this past year without it. I would recommend this book to ANYONE going through a divorce. I've also seen some reviews on here by someone who finds the book to be "pro-divorce", and that is not the case at all. The authors merely acknowledge the fact that divorces happen, provide comfort and advice without passing judgement on the how and why, and help those of us who are going through the process to make the best of the situation and feel somewhat hopeful about our futures.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One-of-a-kind, November 20, 2005

By 

Anna Biez "paperback aficionado" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Your Mother's Divorce: A Practical, Girlfriend-to-Girlfriend Guide to Surviving the End of a Young Marriage (Paperback)

This book is not for people who are not sure whether they want a divorce. It will not suggest that you work harder on your marriage, and it will not tell you that you are making a mistake. It will also not give helpful advice on how to save a marriage. I think the title should be sufficient warning of its target audience.
That said, it is a completely unique book that allows a young, childless woman going thorough divorce to feel that she is not alone. It gave me hope that I might someday be happy again. As someone who had been repeatedly lied to and betrayed by a husband who had been given countless "second chances," I was not interested in hearing that I should try harder to save the marriage.
Well written by intelligent, educated women who had been through divorce themselves, the book really does sound like the advice of a close girlfriend. This book was a life-saver for me.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce in your 20s & 30s!, March 9, 2005

By 

RP "RP" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Your Mother's Divorce: A Practical, Girlfriend-to-Girlfriend Guide to Surviving the End of a Young Marriage (Paperback)

I went to the bookstore to pick up a book on divorce - what I found was books that were either very heavy on the legal end or books for women with children. There was nothing out there for books for 20/30 somethings going through a divorce within the first 5 years -that spoke to me, not my mother. Someone recommended this book and I ordered it within the first 3 weeks after the big break-up. I was looking for something that spoke to me, in a girlfriend type of tone, not a preaching tone and this was PERFECT. It took me through what to expect in the beginning, the cycle of what would happen, how to tell people (or not tell people), and what to expect. It had great vignettes within it that illustrated situations similar to what I was going through and served as a general companion that helped me get through the healing process in the first six months. It was exactly what I needed. I would strongly recommend this to someone in their 20s/30s, first marriage, no kids - its right in-line with the chick lit out there and laughs and cries with you. Without this, I don't think I could have handled everything as well as I have. A must read over all the other books on the subject out there!