A Healing Divorce : Transforming the End of Your Relationship with Ritual and Ceremony

A Healing Divorce is unique. There is no other book devoted solely to rituals for divorce and ceremonies of parting. Written by a formerly married couple who have remained friends, this compassionate and practical book demonstrates how ritual can transform and heal the end of a relationship. If you divorce, your marriage will end in a ritual -- a court hearing; cold, impersonal, adversarial. You may also find yourself in thrall to the Myth of the Bad Divorce. This myth insists that all couples breaking up must recite the same harsh ABC's: accusation, bitterness, conflict, anger, blaming, and contempt. It doesn't have to be that way. Based on the authors' personal experience, as well as interviews and extensive research, A Healing Divorce offers a way to diminish anger, alter destructive patterns, and end a relationship with truth, love, care and forgiveness. It features inspirational stories of individuals who have created and performed parting ceremonies, either alone or with a partner. It offers model rituals drawn from a variety of spiritual and religious traditions. It includes a discussion about religious issues concerning divorce, and divorce and ritual, in both the Christian and Jewish traditions. There's a special chapter about the healing benefits of a parting ceremony for children. Several chapters, including a step-by-step guide, are devoted to the how-to of creating and performing a divorce ritual. The appendix includes both recommended reading and a list of contributors to the book, lay and clergy, prepared to offer the reader advice and counsel about parting ceremonies. A Healing Divorce shows how ritual and ceremony can transform the tension and pain that arise during this difficult time into the emotional energy needed to gain new awareness, initiate the delicate process of growth and effect a positive life transition. It's for everyone -- individuals, couples, families, clergy, lawyers and counselors -- who believe that the more conscious a parting,