Parting from the ex-loved one is sometimes a real tragedy, especially if you are the weaker party, the one who earns less, who takes care of the children, who comes from a foreign country, etc.

If you are reading my article, the simplest, most obvious reason is that your marriage does not work! Whether it is your partner´s fault, yours, or the circumstances´, your relationship has suffered so much that perhaps it can no longer be healed.

Sometimes a "negative" event can have a positive outcome. We all are familiar with the old adage about "learning from our mistakes," making "lemons into lemonade," and "making the best of a bad situation." We experience it and see the net effect of such phenomenon all the time on both personal and societal levels. "Amber alerts", air bags and bicycle helmets, are some examples of societal and cultural attempts respond in a positive, pro-active way to negative events.

On a personal level, something as difficult and painful as a divorce can lead to more positive outcomes; getting out an abusive situation, meeting “the love of your life”, and living a more “authentic”, honest way – to name just a few.

Time to kick them off the pedestal; your ex doesn’t deserve to be there, YOU do! Take time and really think about it, then answer a few questions for me. Was your ex a wonderful precious person that put you and your relationship above everything else? Probably not and most likely there were many other flaws in this broken relationship.

If they were everything your memory is building them up to be you would still be together. Wouldn’t they have been smart enough not to let you go? That fact alone should show you your ex-partner is not the sharpest tool in the shed! Many times people are just simply afraid of being alone and settle for a partner that is not fulfilling.

We had the honor of interviewing Molly Reynolds, co-creator of the new dark musical comedy,“The Gingerbread Pimp,” premiering this week at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Molly Reynolds is a talented writer, lyricist, actress, and proud member of the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity. Hope After Divorce interviewed Molly about her professional and personal journey, which lead to the creation and production of “The Gingerbread Pimp,” and the significance of her message for women and families everywhere.

Poor Prince Charming, he had to knock on a lot of doors before he found the foot that would slip perfectly into the recovered glass slipper. We all know that “no two people are exactly alike.”

Even identical twins can have remarkable differences – so why would we assume that divorce means the same thing for each couple it touches or each individual it affects? While for some divorce can be characterized by ugly custody battles, endless legal wranglings and bitterness, for others it can be a life altering epiphany and the start of a wonderful new chapter. And everyone who has ever been through a divorce has their own “two cents” to add.

by: Nancy Lang

I have never liked roller coasters. If I had my choice (and yes, I’m admitting this out loud), I would choose Disneyland’s “It’s a Small World” over “Space Mountain.” I much prefer smooth sailing to the nauseating drops that lift your stomach and potentially its contents up and out of your mouth. These drops, however, that plunge into the depths of the land of Disney are no match for the depths of despair one can feel when going through a divorce.

by: Jim Duzak, JD

One of the things I admire most about women is their generosity of spirit. Nearly every woman I know spends an incredible amount of time tending to the needs of her immediate family, her aging parents, her friends, her co-workers or her clients, and often the community at large. The world as we know it couldn’t function without women and their dedication.

by: Allison Lloyds, MS, LMFT

Mindfulness is becoming increasingly common in the world of psychology; it’s an intervention that I consistently use in my work with clients. When going through a difficult time period in your life a divorce or separation, many of my clients can feel very overwhelmed making it difficult to get through the day. Mindfulness can help.

by: Rossana Condoleo

I am writing while my Tablet PC is playing one of my favourite songs ever - All in Love is Fair, by Stevie Wonder. This used to be the soundtrack of a little romance featuring me and the ex-boyfriend of a real Patrician Princess. It took some time for me to realize that my expectations were unrealistic. The guy was “using” me to forget his ex-girlfriend. I gave him back the self-confidence that the Princess had taken away, but it was not enough. LOVE is not based on gratitude! Therefore, I did what I would do with whatever friend of mine: helped him to find his own way to love happiness. I felt relieved...could relax and come back to my old single life without relational stress. It was a short story of reciprocal missed expectations.

by: Tasher

I know you have heard this before, but old is how we view it. I have met many thirty something’s that can’t keep up with me or my schedule. Old is a self-chosen set of expectations, attitudes, and perceptions.

People tend to become what they believe we expect them to be or what they believe they should act like. Comparing a 40 or 50 year old to a 95 year old is not very different than comparing a 5 year old to someone that is 35. Yet, for so many they feel turning 40 or 50 has made them “old.”