Upcoming engagements

• Beginning on Saturday, October 24, you can listen to me on Phyllis Wallace's Woman to Woman program on www.womantowomanradio.com
• Sunday, October 25 I'll be speaking to a group of divorced parents at Gateway Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina
• On December 12, you can listen to me at 8pm London time (3pm Eastern time in the US) on www.twr.uk.org. The interview will be available in the show archives after it airs.

Time for some straight talk

Time magazine has a good article on the state of the American family, including the devastating effects of divorce on children. Two snippets:

a lasting covenant between a man and a woman can be a vehicle for the nurture and protection of each other, the one reliable shelter in an uncaring world —or it can be a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering on the people you supposedly love above all others, most of all on your children...

...is marriage an institution that still hews to its old intention and function — to raise the next generation, to protect and teach it, to instill in it the habits of conduct and character that will ensure the generation's own safe passage into adulthood? Think of it this way: the current generation of children, the one watching commitments between adults snap like dry twigs and observing parents who simply can't be bothered to marry each other and who hence drift in and out of their children's lives — that's the generation who will be taking care of us when we are old.

Jon & Kate + 8 children of divorce

Diane Singer, one of my fellow bloggers at The Point has weighed in on the reality show that will apparently follow 8 new children of divorce:

Though I have seen only a few of the episodes, I find the news of the Gosselins' impending divorce a cause to grieve -- for these children and for this couple, who seem to think wealth and fame are more important than marriage and family. How I wish Jon and Kate would turn off the cameras, get into marriage counseling, and -- for the sake of their eight children -- act like adults rather than glory hounds.

What has to be done

Now, this is a poster child for a child of divorce. Ronetta Alexander managed to run track, get a doctorate in pharmacology, and raise her teenage sister. While "Alexander's friends marvel at her maturity and self-reliance," Ronetta told The State newspaper, "I just thought, it's life. To me, it's life."

Psychobabble child of divorce

The Houston Chronicle did an article recently (which appears to no longer be available online) on John Bradshaw, a popular self-help guru who coined the term "inner child" and, according to the Chronicle, "brought talk of dysfunctional families into the mainstream."

Interestingly, Bradshaw, who is now 75 years old, was a teenage child of divorce.

Why am I not surprised that a child of divorce blossomed in the SELF-help industry?

Dear Abby....

...please tell parents not to be hateful toward their children during a divorce. Honestly, what made this mom think this was EVER appropriate to share with her daughter? Good grief.

Your chance to be a book reviewer

USA Today has a new blog discussing books about faith. I'd love it if someone would submit a review of Child of Divorce, Child of God. Read more about the blog and how to submit reviews here.

I see you, CIU

I had the fantastic opportunity to talk this morning with grad students who are studying to be counselors at Columbia International University. We spent an hour talking about children of divorce and had some great discussion.

If you would like me to come speak at your event, contact me at steakley7 at yahoo dot com.

Say cheese

"people who frown in photos are five times more likely to get a divorce than people who smile."

Online with the Christophers

You can hear the audio of my interview with Tony Rossi of The Christophers on their web site here.

Talk amongst yourselves

If you would like a .pdf file of chapter-by-chapter discussion questions for individual or group study drawn from Child of Divorce, Child of God, please contact me by email at steakley7 at yahoo dot com. The questions are written to the adult child of divorced parents and are designed to help you begin to apply the verses and thoughts shared in each chapter to your own life.

Coming to a bookstore near you...

I've just received word that Child of Divorce, Child of God is going into a second printing here in the U.S.

In related news, the Korean arm of InterVarsity Press has picked up Child of Divorce, Child of God and will be translating the book for publication in Korean. I'm told that process can take up to two years, but I'm grateful that our Korean friends will get to read the book in their own language.

Letting the (basketball) courts decide

I love this story on CNN's web site. This high school basketball coach in northern Ireland has formed a team of kids from the two sides of the religious and political spectrum, something of a miracle in a land that has seen decades of violence over those issues. What's even more inspiring, though, is that the kids on his team are all from broken homes.

These kids have all experienced conflict that could not be resolved--the conflict between their parents--but now they're being shown that perhaps even bigger conflicts can be resolved. What an amazing life lesson for them. Kudos to the coach and let's hope these guys can keep playing in peace and show their countrymen that our differences don't have to divide us.