WHEN MOM AND DAD DIVORCE

By a pediatrician-psychiatrist, a handbook for children whose parents are divorcing or divorced. Moving chronologically from the disagreements that may lead to divorce through such issues as custody disputes to problems with stepfamilies and parents who use their children as weapons against each other, Nickman begins each chapter with a fictional case, then discusses the problems raised and their possible resolutions. His solutions often include counseling, but his discussions also offer much sensible advice on being assertive, eschewing guilt, and not taking on unfair burdens, such as being made to choose between two equally loved parents. The fictional episodes are a bit pat (especially the one where the new stepbrothers discover they're both trumpet players), but they serve their purpose. The pensive portraits in de Groat's sensitive drawings suggest the complex relationships involved. Should prove useful and comforting in time of need. Index.