We Need to Talk about Divorce: An Important Book about Separation, Stepfamilies, and Feeling Heard

A kid-centric guide for the children of parents going through a separation or divorce, written by internationally renowned divorce therapist Kate Scharff, MSW.

Children of separating or divorcing parents often feel alone and alienated, as though no one understands what they’re going through. They need reassurance that their feelings are normal, and age-appropriate answers to their many questions. But divorce is confusing and overwhelming--thinking and talking about it are hard, for kids and grown-ups alike.

Kate Scharff (a child of divorce herself) addresses many of kids’ common concerns, such as navigating life in two homes, feeling pressured to choose sides, and adjusting when parents date or remarry. Her central theme is the importance of parent-child communication, and she offers lots of tips for how kids can speak up constructively--even in the trickiest situations.

This book, with illustrations by Annika Le Large, is suitable for kids to read by themselves or with a parent. It’s frank, honest, and open. But while the author doesn’t shy away from the painful aspects of the experience, she also reassures her reader that while divorce will always be a sad memory, it doesn’t have to be a bad turning point. In fact, divorce can make lots of things easier over time.

We Need to Talk About Divorce is the next book in Neon Squid’s critically acclaimed series tackling subjects that are hard to talk about for kids aged 10 and above.

Kate Scharff is a divorce therapist with over 35 years’ experience helping children and families to navigate a wide range of issues, such as relationship problems, anxiety, depression, grief, social difficulties, parenting, and life transitions. She is also an author, a teacher, and the host of the podcast Divorce on Planet Earth: Real World Advice for Well-Intentioned Humans. As an internationally trusted voice in the areas of separation and divorce, Kate is widely cited and has been interviewed on programs ranging from National Public Radio to Al Jazeera Media Network.

Annika Le Large is an illustrator based in Leipzig, Germany. Her artworks are often related to social issues or concepts of self-love. Annika previously illustrated We Need to Talk About Vaginas and We Need to Talk About Death for Neon Squid.