Divorce Is Not the End of the World: Zoe's and Evan's Coping Guide for Kids

Divorce is Not the End of the World: Zoe and Evan's Coping Guide for Kids This book provided the right amount of information for my boys to read when they felt it necessary. It also allowed them to ask questions and process the whole divorce issue.

This is a book that is written by kids, for kids. I bought it for my kids and liked it so much I started using it in my work as a social worker.

Divorce is Not the End of the World, now in paperback, is a revised and updated edition of the 1997 version. With almost half of the marriages in the United States ending in divorce, a lot of kids are impacted. Even if some children have not personally experienced divorce in their family, they most assuredly know kids who have have. This is a difficult situation and Zoe and Evan Stern's book can provide some helpful information that is practical and thought-provoking. The added advantage of the Sterns' book is that their mother, Ellen Sue Stern, weighs in with information and answers. Together the three Sterns offer kids some guidance, encouragement and the knowledge that they are not alone, that their questions are normal, the feelings they are experiencing are okay and that divorce is difficult, but it is not the end of the world. Armchair Interviews says: A practical guide for teens and pre-teens from kids who have gone through divorce themselves.

This book was recommended during my co-parenting class. I bought it for my then 10 year old son, he read the entire book and found a lot of helpful information. I appreciated hearing a kid's point of view regarding many of my concerns. The ideas definitely shaped how I deal with my son. It's now 18 months after the divorce and my son is settled into having 2 homes and two families. He's recommending the book to his friends going through the same experience. I'm buying another copy because I need one to share with friends.

This short book is pretty good for helping kids between 9 and 15, say, cope with separation and divorce. It's written by two (obviously unusually literate and relationship-savvy) kids, and their mom, who has written other books on related subjects. It discusses feelings of guilt, anger, managing belongings between two houses, planning birthdays and other events, avoiding manipulation by parents, sharing your thoughts with friends and parents, finding the bright side of a sad situation, dealing with parents' boyfriends/girlfriends, with step-parents, and with step-siblings. The book focuses on kids in the age range stated, so it wouldn't be as much help for much younger kids or for adult kids. It also assumes for the most part that the parents are communicating with each other and able to cooperate. The book is more concise and direct (less psychobabble) than many adult-oriented self-help books, and certainly much more incisive than the small-child-oriented books such as "Dinosaur's Divorce". It's short enough that you can read it cover to cover in the bookstore, as I did :-) .