Torn Asunder: Children, the Myth of the Good Divorce, and the Recovery of Origins

by Margaret McCarthy (Editor)

Overview

A timely unsettling of old "settled" questions surrounding divorce

Amid the current nationwide debate over what "marriage" is, this book examines anew the nature and meaning of marriage from the standpoint of what adult children of divorce have actually experienced.

Upholding the inextricable link between our personal identity and our origin in a union of two — and, more deeply, in the Fatherhood of God — the contributors to this volume reflect on the damage that divorce does to children, opening up important questions for all of us: What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to love and to marry?

After decades of talk about the rights of adults to get a divorce and the benefits for children of an amicable split between parents (a so-called "good divorce"), these authors — theologians, philosophers, political scientists, lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, and cultural critics — effectively unsettle conventional opinion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467445344
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	01/22/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	316
File size:	740 KB

About the Author

Margaret Harper McCarthy is assistant professor of theological anthropology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, Washington DC.

Table of Contents

Contributors vii

Introduction Margaret Harper McCarthy 1

The "Homelessness" of Divorce Lisa Lickona 9

The Tragedy of Divorce for Children Paul Sullins 19

Biological Effects of Divorce on Children Vicki Thorn 41

Children of Divorce: Conflicts and Healing Richard P. Fitzgibbons 51

Does the Shape of Families Shape Faith? Challenging the Churches to Confront the Impact of Family Change Elizabeth Marquardt Amy Ziettlow Charles E. Stokes 66

The Loss of Family as the Loss of Being: Divorce as an Ontological Wound Andrew Root 91

The Child as the Guardian of Being Antonio López 105

United We Divide: The Convergence of Law, Politics, Theology, and Daily Life in the Production of No-Fault Divorce Ryan C. MacPherson 131

Untying the Knot in the "Pursuit of Happiness" Sr. M. Maximilia Um 153

Love Endures All Things: The Role of Forgiveness in Marriage Andrew J. Sodergren 166

Sacrifice and Happiness: Approaching an Authentic Therapeutic Response to Married Couples in Distress Margaret R. Laracy 192

Hedging One's Bets: Courting Divorce Margaret Harper McCarthy 212

Killed by the Dragon: The Effects of Contraception on Courtship and Marriage Gintautas Vaitoska 232

"To Be Fond of Dancing Was a Certain Step Towards Falling in Love": Relearning Courtship from Jane Austen Elizabeth Kantor 246

As the Nation Goes, So Goes the Family: Liberal Political Theory and the Decline of Marriage Jeanne Heffernan Schindler 263

More Than Mere Will: The Grounds of Fidelity Nathan Schlueter 272

Index 292