Breaking up is hard to do

Parenting When Separated: Helping Your Children Cope and Thrive

Though family breakup in Ireland does not seem quite as bad as I remember it to have been in the US, it is still a traumatic experience for all involved. John Sharry will be familiar from his columns in The Irish Times, and in this little book he provides persuasive and excellent advice on coping for both parents and children in the situation.

If there is an upside to separation, it is that the time parents have to spend with their children is made as rich as possible. Of course nothing will replace the everyday life in a family unit – not always a cosy place, but still the one place where you do not need to explain yourself.