I was perusing a few antique stores the other day in Gastown, a funky neighborhood in my hometown of Vancouver.  I always find it interesting that in every store there is inevitably a box full of old, black and white family photos.  Who are these people?  Well, they could be anyone.  They could be my own relatives and I wouldn’t even know it! These snaps made me think about how all of our family photos are similar.    These old photos each tell their own story but collectively they reflect a certain time, with certain attitudes and mores.

The wedding photos in particular, made me smile to myself.  Must

Letting go is a big divorce phrase that get thrown around by friends, family, lawyers, mediators and random folks.  Everyone talks about it like it’s putting your shoes on to go out.  It should just

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,

whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”

A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

Spring is the season of renewal, re-birth, new life. But when you’re going through your very own metamorphosis due to a divorce or other life changing experience, it’s not easy to feel optimistic.  But the blossoms, the new baseball diamonds, the warm sun on your face, the open toe sandals are just begging you to re-consider.  As you shed

photo purchased from Dreamstime

In times of change, we need to go inside ourselves and think. We need a quiet place where we can listen to our heart.

When we arrive at a crossroads, we need to take time for ourselves to be quiet, to unplug. In our lives full of constant communication, we need more than ever to learn

photo credit someecards.com

People will ask you the weirdest, nosiest most obnoxious questions when you tell them your marriage is over.  As a woman who made the decision to end my marriage, the reaction of bewilderment by some people was beyond frustrating.  Here are the top dumbest divorce questions I got asked;

There is always so much negative coverage, comments, judgments and professional nay-saying about divorce.  But what about the positive side of divorce or as I like to call it; the flip side of divorce. There are surprising benefits for both you, and the kids.

Rarely do we stop and examine what can go right during or after divorce. So instead of focusing on the difficulties, expense and strife of divorce, let’s take a few moments to examine the good, the pluses and the long term positive effects of divorce i.e., the BENEFITS.

During the initial stages of separation and divorce, we find that we have lost our normal.  This is unsettling for us humans since we thrive on routine.  Our simple routine of daily tasks and some of our traditions are thrown out.  It’s called change or transition and it’s not an easy part of the process.  How can

We’ve grown up only to learn Cinderella’s carriage was a pumpkin to begin with.  Our foot never fit the glass slipper.  Sleeping Beauty ate a bad apple and maybe we took a bite from the same one.  We’re not in Kansas anymore!  Learning the fairy tale doesn’t always have that happy ending is a hard lesson, even for cynics.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning to blast off my new site and blog.  As you would have read in my bio, I made the most difficult decision of my life in 2005.  I made a decision to end my marriage.  It was not a decision I took lightly but when I made it nothing could change it back, that’s how sure I was about it.  Since then I have become stronger, wiser, more tolerant, less judgmental of others, happier, and more fulfilled.  Although I have gone through the stumbling blocks, including anguish, tears, anger and fear I have made it to the other side.  The point is it is not easy to accomplish freedom, but is worth every tear.

I was inspired to write The Great Escape; A Girl’s Guide to Leaving a Marriage partially as a form of therapy,