“Children with feuding parents ‘more likely to have underage sex and do drugs.’” The Daily Telegraph. This heading caught my eye because it so precisely mirrors my own experience and philosophy. Divorce may be cited as an unstabilising factor in a child’s life but, until now, there has been little research undertaken to show that it may be the lesser of two evils.

Family Feuding, Infidelity, and Forgiveness

Much of my early marriage, in the late sixties and early seventies, was peaceful simply because I buttoned my lip and behaved as the submissive wife that I believed I should be. It was only when my husband’s affairs became more frequent and damaging that I found my voice. Even then, however, I continued to do all I could to keep my marriage intact. And so, we spent years on an emotional see-saw: discovery of each infidelity; his remorse; my forgiveness; further betrayal; an endless cycle of unhappiness and trauma.