Divorce Papers

This month marks the 7 year anniversary of my divorce, so this month's book club is kind of ironic. Luckily, our divorce wasn't ugly, there was no back and forth and it was as painless as a divorce can be.

When I was a child, I swore I'd never get divorced. My parents split when I was 6 months old and my mom divorced 2 other times after my dad. I swore I'd never be like her. I would never be a single mom. When I said I do, it would be forever, no matter what...

I now find it funny how life seems to teach you lessons and put you in your place. Here I am 7 years later, divorced, and for the most part, have been a single mom. Granted, there was no way I could have stayed in my marriage. There was no way I could have tried harder. There was nothing I could have done to make it work. He became an addict and refused help. He pawned most of our stuff and cleared out our bank account, every week. Leaving was my only option. And even though it was complete hell, there was part of me that hated myself for it.

It took me 5 years to truly mourn my marriage and the loss of my best friend. I can now look back and know it was the best decision I could have made, even though it went against all of my beliefs. After 7 years, I can finally say that I would one day like to get married again and try again for my happily ever after.

This post was inspired by the novel The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger. Young lawyer Sophie unwillingly takes her first divorce case with an entertaining and volatile client in this novel told mostly through letters and legal missives. Join From Left to Write on March 18 we discuss The Divorce Papers. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes.