Monday, June 22, 2009

Jon & Kate divorce up close on your living room TV

I just watched Jon & Kate painfully and publicly discuss their divorce and the impact they think it will have on them and their eight children. It was so sad and so raw. It brought back memories of those first horrible days of my own separation and divorce, and I felt for both of them as they enter what is to them unchartered territory. They talked about continuing their reality show so that all of us can see how they and their eight children cope with this great change in their lives. I can't imagine going through a divorce with the whole world watching you and your children's just about every move. I know that Jon & Kate can't even imagine, although they think they can, the land mines that they will face as they navigate their divorce with eight other little lives dependent on their every decision. I wrote my novel Land Mines to help people going through a divorce understand what some of the land mines are that they may face and to help their friends and family understand what those people in the midst of a divorce may be going through, but what they may never tell their friends and family. Many people find the novel to be affirming and reaffirming, but others have no interest in reading about separation, divorce and its aftermath. It will be interesting to see how viewers respond to separation and divorce when a family that was so loved by so many brings them smack dab in the middle of it. It won't be easy on Jon or Kate or the eight children. But, there are ways to cope. Jon and Kate have to believe that their best days are ahead of them. And, they have to help their children transition into and through this experience so that they can come out as healthy, happy, independent adults on the other side. It can be done, but whether it can be done on television remains to be seen. My prayers and my heart goes out to all of them.