This book has sold over 25,000 paperback copies. It is for divorcing mothers and fathers who love their children and want to do what is best for them. It is clearly written and easy to understand, so anyone can pick it up and read it. It is a simple manual parents can read cover to cover to learn both the concepts and the specifics of cooperative shared parenting. Parents Are Forever begins with a description of the grief recovery process, which affects all divorcing adults and their children. Reasons are explained why pain and suffering are common to everyone. In a supportive way, parents are told they need to form a new relationship with each other. This is so the children can continue to have both of them available, emotionally and physically. The business-like relationship forms the basis for the re-structured, post-divorce family, and it involves a commitment to put the needs of the children first. The step-by-step organization of Parents Are Forever shows parents logically that, once they know they are divorcing, they need to focus on working together to set up a new life for the children. This format is perfect for gently leading the reader into specifics about how they should write the co-parenting plan. A detailed checklist is included that gives thoughtful advice on how to decide the 29 most important questions. A blank checklist and sample parenting agreement are in the appendix for parents to use with their own ideas. There are other unique features of the book. One is a simple explanation of the stages of negotiation and an explanation about parent business meetings. There is a description of developmentally correct suggestions about how to divide time with the child between homes. Finally, this was the first book to apply principles of cognitive psychology to problems of divorce recovery and co-parenting. Throughout the entire guide there are helpful examples of how parents can correct errors in their thinking that make them feel unhappy. When readers have finished Parents Are Forever, they have been led through the stages of grief and have been given ways to find a positive outlook toward their new roles as co-parents. They have been shown exactly what steps to take to reorganize the post-divorce family, and have been offered many helpful tools to do the job.
