Chapter 2 - Divorce Recovery

Cathy is a product of divorce as well as divorced herself with two children. As the oldest child growing up, she was the messenger between her parents who absolutely hated each other. She divorced her ex-husband when her children were 8 and 9 and has tried to shield them from the ongoing conflict. Being in and out of court for many years, she wanted to create a way for parents to raise their children and communicate while minimizing the emotions and conflict. She created Divorce Communications, a web service that allows parents to sign up, link accounts, and communicate about their children all in a safe and objective manner.

Author, Divorce Coach and Founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network, Rosalind Sedacca, provides concrete advice that gets to the heart of parenting after divorce. She asks the most important question divorced parents can ask themselves. Discover choices and decisions that can adversely affect your children in the months and years following a divorce. Learn about the most destructive divorce mistakes, how to successfully avoid them – and practical ways to support the emotional and psychological well-being of the children you love!

Jennifer Fontanilla is no stranger to divorce herself.  After having gone through it as well as being a financial advisor, she realized she had a passion to help people who are going through a divorce.  She especially loves to help women because unfortunately they tend to be the ones in the relationship who did not have a handle on what was going on with the money and wants to empower them with information so that they can make the right decisions and start their life all over again.

Mimi's foundation is producing a documentary about divorce. The filmmaker is an Emmy award winner, Mimi is the co-producer and Larry King is the narrator.  This film will help millions of parents have a more child centered divorce. She is seeking funding for the completion of this film at www.calmingthestormofdivorce.org.  She has developed an audio program for children of divorce called Swimming with the Dolphins, a story for children to help them recover from their parents’ divorce and she train counselors nationally to work with children to help them heal from the trauma of divorce.  

Dr. Janne' Lomasky, Psy.D, in her own personal life, has experienced the agony of a high-conflict divorce first-hand. She struggled and endured significant mental anguish in her short-term marriage that left her taking on the role of a single mother when her baby turned 10-months-old. At the time she did not know that this grueling experience would lead her to become an expert on divorce and motivated her to become a Florida Supreme Court Certified family mediator. As a licensed Psychologist, she has a heightened insight into the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of individuals who are contemplating divorce. However, through her education, work and personal experience, she has become an expert on helping individuals going through divorce and the effects it has on those involved. Her book 'To Stay or Not To Stay', written together with Danielle Jacobs, prov. Licensed, a workbook for adults who are contemplating divorce, is currently in publication.

Judy is the founder of an organization which was nationally recognized with the Phoenix Award,in 1999  known as National Single Parent Resource Center. Former Guardian Ad Litem whose mission is to reduce the risks of abuse children and single parents may face by offering programs and resources that empower single parent families to, handle the maze of family court and how "to work in the best interest of the children." She is a Divorce and Single Parent Coach and former Guardian Ad Litem.  She has a training kit on divorce and created a fund known as PMA Abuse whose purpose is to raise funds for families who can't afford any of our programs.  

Suzy Miller is the creator of the 1st UK divorce expo, where she refused private investigators, DNA testers and Divorce Cake maker's access as exhibitors, and her byline is "Break up right - please don't fight", which was the brainwave of one of her three children.  Suzy has created the only product in the world which is biased towards stay-out-of-court methods through divorce - promoting both mediation and collaborative law.  It is called Divorce in a Box (ribbon is optional) and is available online in the USA at www.divorceinabox.us.

As a teenager, Danielle Jacobs, prov. LMHC, experienced the high conflict divorce of her parents, who separated and got back together several times before finally divorcing when she was 15. Although her parents did their best to cope with the situation, they were not always (emotionally or physically) available. She felt sad, at times depressed, angry and lonely. It made a big impact on her life. At the time she did not know that this hard experience would lead her to become an expert on divorce and inspired her career in child psychology. She is author of children book 'Nina Has Two Houses', a book to help young children cope with the divorce of their parents, available on Amazon. Her second book 'To Stay or Not To Stay', written together with Dr. Janne Lomasky, a workbook for adults who are contemplating divorce, is currently in publication.

Donna Martini is a Wellness Activist, Coach and Author of “The Ten Commandments of Divorce.  With 20 years of experience in creating and implementing healthy lifestyle programs to businesses, schools, government and families, she was recently appointed as the Lead Ambassador of Wellness at Large for her County in NY where she is working hard to help lower the cost of health insurance through wellness and green programs. As a Planning Commissioner and government liaison to the US Green Building Council, she is making sure that our offices and homes are healthy as well. Donna is a professional blogger, webmaster for eight of her own websites, and health advisor to many charitable organizations, including Mom’s Who Kick. Along with her regular coaching practice and various seminars, she helps divorcing couples keep their families together using a technique she calls Positive Manipulation.

Brian has written a book about his personal experiences with divorce and how he was able to see the upsides in his second chance at life, which in turn helped to make a GREAT recovery.  Brian believes you can do it too!   Brian's book "Yes, There Is an Upside of Divorce, It Can Be Your Second Chance at Life!" can be found on Amazon by searching "upside of divorce".  He also has some wonderful reviews of the book on Amazon as well.  He offers book discounts on his site www.self-help-products-and-services.com

In 2006, Deborah began her divorce as many of us do - unprepared, inexperienced and facing both a confrontational legal battle and profound life-change.  Just over three months later Deborah was divorced, feeling fabulous, and relocated two states away, in Minneapolis.  Today, dedicated to fighting helplessness and victimization, Deborah assists women and men in all stages of divorce via her speaking engagements, consulting services and her book, Make Your Divorce Cost You Less - what to know...what to do.  She also speaks individually and in groups to divorce professionals seeking a better understanding of the client mindset.

How would you handle a cheating spouse who had been planning a divorce for months? What would you do if your divorce wound up costing over $100,000? Sheila will discuss this and more this week when I interview her about her life changing divorce. Sheila Brennan is a divorce coach.  She explains that a divorce coach is your personal advocate, another set of eyes and ears with a full understanding of the issues. Sheila’s approach is from the perspective of someone with firsthand knowledge of the often arduous divorce process. You’ll experience complete support and guidance through this demanding and emotional process. Sheila weighs your options based on what is practical and realistic and presents possibilities that work. Incorporating her strong formal education, training and life experience, you will create a plan to emerge empowered, enlightened and stronger.  

Virginia Colin, Ph.D., a Virginia Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, chose her profession because she did not want other children and parents to endure the long-lasting emotional and financial damage that her family experienced during her divorce. She specializes in helping couples and ex-couples develop co-parenting plans and financial agreements that support their children’s security, self-confidence, and healthy development. She also loves helping parents to be secure, confident, and healthy! You can find a lot of free information on her website, http://FairfaxMediator.com. You can also "converse" with her through www.facebook.com/VLCOLIN.  

My scheduled guest was unexpectedly unavailable so I had the opportunity to share my own divorce experience, strength and hope.  I have used my divorce as a spring board into a career as a divorce coach, being the support before, during and after divorce that I wished I had during my own divorce.  I have also gone through the post-divorce dating world and have been remarried for the past 4 years. We all have a divorce story to tell and I hope mine will support you on your journey.  

Jennifer Safian has been  a divorce and family mediator in NYC for the last 10 years. She herself experienced divorce when her three children were young. That prompted to make a career change and help people going through separation and divorce.   She believes: “It is my privilege to do the job that I do, and bring some calm and reassurance to the couples going through this traumatic time in their lives.”   Her website is www.safianmediation.com   Jennifer also writes a blog where she discusses issues related to divorce and you can subscribe to it from her website if you wish