Sunday, June 3, 2012

Divorce and Second Time's a Charm by Melissa Keir



Divorce and Second Time’s a Charm by Melissa Keir:

Many families are facing divorce or have lived through a divorce.  When I was growing up, I remember only one or two families that had been affected by divorce.  Today divorce is so much more common.  

In fact, I am a divorced person.  I married my husband when I was eighteen and thought that we would grow old together.  But after twenty years together and raising two wonderful children, we found that divorce was the best answer for us.  Not that I advocate divorce, nor did I take my decision lightly.  We went through counseling.  Michigan also has a law in place that requires people with children to wait six months from filing to ending.  Talk about a touchy situation.  Can you imagine living with the person that you are divorcing?  

Because I had the experience of divorce, I wrote my character Lissa Vincent, from Second Time’s the Charm as a divorcee with two small boys.  I wanted to bring to the story some of the challenges that I faced as I navigated the divorced waters. In fact, four of the characters in Second Time’s the Charm are divorced. Each are in different points of the divorce process.  Chloe and Alex have been divorced for a while and have found a comfortable friendship putting their past behind them.  Chloe has even remarried.  The story shows how accepting Alex is of the new relationship.  Lissa and Steve are still coming to grips to the end of their marriage.  Lissa is feeling very self conscious about herself, physically and emotionally.  Steve is unwilling to allow anyone else to come into his children’s lives.  

The divorce isn’t the main character in the story of Lissa and Alex’s love.   It is a story about finding true love in the face of self-doubt and being open to what fate sends your way.  Like Lissa, I did find my own special love and married him.  My divorce added to my life experience and made me the person I am today, just as Lissa’s divorce made her who she was.  Her divorce opened her up to Alex and his charming, caring nature. 

I hope that you enjoy Lissa and Alex’s story as they take a chance on each other and on love.

3 comments:

romancefan said...

Divorce is a tough subject, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Catherine Lee said...

The cover on Second Time's the Charm is sweet. What a great smile she has. Post-divorce stories are tough to write. They need a lot of sensitivity.

Melissa Keir said...

Thanks. The cover was up for April's cover of the month. I was hoping it would win. :)