Like many other divorced women I was depressed; had questions about why I could not keep a man; and angry. For almost twenty years I successfully raised my children. This article discusses how to raise responsible children even with this background.
The Story of My Life

I am a woman who has been able to change the direction of my life after repeatedly (three times!) hitting the brick wall of marital failure. My story illustrates the power of choice, focus and perseverance. I was engulfed with depression; overwhelmed with questions about why I could not get and keep a man; and angry over the abandonment of me and my children. For almost twenty years I raised my children alone, with little emotional or financial help from their fathers. But after finally setting a radically new direction, I have begun to experience the joy of achieving life goals, and have overcome extraordinary odds. Now I am sitting on the precipice of their adulthood. They are, for the most part, confident, well-adjusted adults who are highly educated and successful in their careers. My story is how I pursued and finally achieved the dream of creating a better life for my family by envisioning success and then pursuing it by making small, but right decisions daily.

I did not choose to be a divorcee. No one sets out to repeat mistakes or to deliberately break vows and commitments. As a child there was nothing in my life that would have indicated my tendency to make so many wrong choices. After these choices were made, and after suffering many consequences that many women can relate to, I was able to built a foundation so that my children would not automatically repeat my mistakes. If that was all I achieved in my life, that would be enough for me. But the children finally have grown older and more independent, and I have had more time to compare my own family history with that of other women. I now see a common thread of insecurity, inability to handle emotions, and failure to reconcile the history of our birth families with our own desires and ambitions. If possible, I want to help other women and so I gladly expose my journey though life and the healing process that I