CHAPTER EIGHT

Deciding Whether or Not to Divorce

The lead feature in each issue of Ladies’ Home Journal is a column entitled “Can This Marriage Be Saved?”, which the Journal bills as “The most popular, enduring women’s magazine feature in the world.”

The feature has three sections. The first section is “The Wife’s Turn” in which the wife recounts the frustrations of her marriage and why she is considering leaving it. Second, the husband takes his turn and talks about his unhappiness. (The husband usually comes across as being more at fault than the wife.) Third, the counselor takes a turn and analyzes how the couple reached an impasse and what can be done to save the marriage. In Ladies Home Journal, the marriage always is saved.

In real life, marriage counselors, of course, do not save all marriages, but they can help save some marriages, and they also can help wives and husbands with individual growth regardless of whether they decide to divorce.

• Deciding Whether to Divorce
• The Secret Diary?
• Marriage/Divorce Counseling
• Impact of Divorce on Spouses
• Reaction of Children to Divorce
• After Deciding to Proceed with a Divorce