Carolyne Call, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, is director of the Office of Civic and Social Engagement and a lecturer in psychology at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She serves as a spiritual adviser for those in the process of divorce while also conducting workshops and retreats on spiritual, psychological, and moral development. Call points out that divorce is a terribly upsetting event and can lead to breakdown on many different levels. But it can also result in a breakthrough to a new life. As she puts it:

"To cope with divorce in a spiritually healthy way means exploring it in all of its complexity and considering all the ways it challenges and rearranges your life. This means there is no quick fix. There is no way to go around this experience. The only way to create a new path for yourself is to forge ahead into the new landscape, no matter how strange, frightening, or hostile it seems."

This helpful resource maps out the possible territory ahead for those who have gotten divorced and are feeling discombobulated. As people shift from couplehood back to singlehood, all relationships are altered. This shaking-up process has an impact on our self-perception: some may plunge into a feeling of victimhood. A much better and spiritually healthy option is holding on to hope.

Call moves on to a discussion of spiritually healthy ways to rebuild self-worth through humility, tending to your spirit, claiming authentic empowerment, celebrating achievement, and fostering a sense of belonging. Divorced people have to watch out for self-destructiveness in the form of demonizing a former partner or finding a hiding place and plunging into isolation. Building new bridges of trust, discovering the riches of forgiveness, and coming closer to God are three benefits of starting over with a positive attitude. Call ends with an inspiring prayer (see the excerpt) followed by Group Formation and Discussion Guide to the book: Setting Up a Spirituality of Divorce Reflection Group.

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