The Champagne Bottle Across the Bow

And the blog ship also known as "The Divorce Coach" launches on its maiden voyage.

There are so many things I want to say about divorce, about gently restructuring families, about dealing with the pain and heartache of taking something apart that you never planned or wanted to take apart. So many hints and tips I want to share that I know from experience (my own and others') will ease the difficulty and allow you to come through this. I want to give you hope. I want to encourage you to continue to reach deep for the strength it will take to consistently step up and do what is best for your family, even when it seems difficult. I want to help you see the potential damage that can be inflicted on your kids, and what you can do to mitigate that.

All this and more... but what I discovered, after setting up this blog a few weeks ago and then not posting a darn thing... is that there are so many things all wanting to come through the "door" of the blog at the same time that I went these past few weeks not posting any of them.

And so, with patience for my ADHD and my intense passion to help others navigate the tricky waters of divorce and get to the other side of it with hope, dignity, self-respect, and a viable path to healing, here goes the "sort" process. This first post is what seems most important to me today.

As I learn more about blogging, I know that I'll be able to help more. There are so many other great sites and blogs and message groups that I hope to post the links to here. I also coach in real life, in the great state of Texas, and I coach in Second Life as an avatar named "Andi Martinsyde". In both business venues, my business name is "Reliable Divorce Consultants".

My foremost desire is to help you get through your divorce. It truly feels like a "life calling" to me. There are others (sadly, way too few!) out there who do what I do - and every one of them that I have met or contacted says the same thing: it feels like a "life calling". Many of them have left or shifted a legal profession to do this. Others come out of the counseling profession to make this their specialty. Although I am a psychologist, I am not a licensed counselor, and as I coach you through your divorce, I will not practice therapy. I also do not practice law, although I do partner up with several attorneys and cross-refer with several more that I believe see divorce and family restructuring with the same vision that I do.

Divorce coaching and collaborative divorce are relatively new fields, and we all stumble as we go along. But even as we feel our way through uncharted territory, we know that the new world we explore is a better solution than the old practice of earth-scorching divorce.

Fully one-half of all marriages in the United States end in divorce today. This figure has held steady for nearly a generation now. If you are contemplating divorce, going through divorce, dealing with post-divorce difficulty, or watching helplessly as a loved one endures this life-altering experience, please stay tuned here. I hope that what I provide will be of value and benefit to you, and that you will ultimately find your life blessed by learning and applying what is taught here.

Peace.