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Divorce Interactive guest expert Rosalind Sedacca, CCT was announced the first place inner of the 2008 Victorious Woman Award. The international competition was created by Annmarie Kelly, author of Victorious Woman! Shaping Life’s Challenges into Personal Victories. A panel of judges made the winning selections. Sedacca is recognized as The Voice of Child-Centered Divorce and is the author of the new book, How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook Guide to Preparing Your Children -- with Love! Her winning essay was taken from the first chapter of her book in which she shares her personal story about the trauma of telling her eleven year old son that she was divorcing his father. Sedacca came up with an innovative approach that more than a decade later she turned into an interactive ebook. What makes the book unique is that she doesn’t just tell parents what to say. She says it for them! Sedacca uses fill-in-the-blank, age-appropriate templates to show parents how to create a storybook sharing family photos and history as a successful way to have the tough “break-the-news” conversation. Therapists, attorneys, mediators and other professionals throughout the U.S. and other nations have endorsed the book, attesting to the value of her novel storybook concept. Six therapists contribute their expertise to the book, as well. Her purpose is to raise the consciousness of divorcing couples so they will stop, talk and create a caring plan of action before having that first crucial conversation with their children. Sedacca, who has since remarried, is also the founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network where parents can access her free articles, ezine, blog, as well as many valuable resources and services to help parents create a “child-centered divorce.” “By preparing a storybook in advance, about your family with your family’s photos, parents give their children something to hold on to that reminds them that they are safe and loved. The storybook approach also eliminates the awkwardness of not knowing what to say,” Sedacca adds, “while you are confidently providing essential messages your children need to understand.” Sedacca’s son, eleven at the time of the divorce, is now a veterinarian who recently got married. His moving Introduction to the book personally acknowledges the effectiveness of this unique approach to a tough conversation. “One of the most gratifying moments in my life came when my son, as an adult, confided that he understood why his Dad and I divorced,” says Sedacca. “While he was very upset at the time, he said he could now see it was the right decision. He also thanked me for maintaining a positive interactive relationship with his Dad -- what I now refer to as a Child-Centered Divorce.” Kelly is a speaker, trainer, founder and principal of SkillBuilder Systems. Her consulting company offers Victorious Woman Workshops, where she facilitates a process through which women learn how to choose and develop more satisfying and authentic lifestyles, beginning with awareness and progressing through actions that result in a victorious outcome. “Many, many of us are more victorious than we, and the world, give us credit for being,” says Kelly who claims her own victories over early familial dysfunctions that included alcoholism and sibling abuse, teenage overweight that resulted in self-image issues and paralyzing shyness, as well as later financial devastation and emotional loss. Kelly says the purpose of the Victorious Woman Award is to “support other women, fearful of the unknown, and encourage them to find the good that waits for them on the other side of surviving!” She can be contacted at www.victoriouswoman.com. How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook™ Guide to Preparing Your Children -- with Love! is available online as a downloadable ebook. It can also be purchased in CD format from attorneys, therapists and other professionals. To learn more visit http://www.howdoitellthekids.com. Sedacca’s free ezine, articles, acclaimed blog, coaching services and resource pages can be found at: http://www.childcentereddivorce.com. Reach Sedacca at: Rosalind@childcentereddivorce.com. |
