“Paradise Lost” by Terry Martin Hekker

This papper presents a critical analysis of an article titled, “Paradise Lost”, written by Terry Martin Hekker. Actually in this article, the author has depicted her personal experience of being a working mother and how she felt when she was divorced after 40 long years of marriage. It was really devastating for her to cope up with the loneliness after the divorce and she was forced to reestablish herself right from the scratch. Defending her cause, Terry admits that “I wasn't advocating that mothers forgo careers to stay home with their children; I was simply defending my choice as a valid one. The mantra of the age may have been "Do your own thing," but as a full-time homemaker, that didn't seem to mean me.” (www.terrymartinhekker.com)

Regardless of the causes of divorce, its social and economic consequences are a source of concern for both conservative and liberal politicians, policymakers, and intellectuals. Whereas some studies show strong negative effects on children, other studies argue that differences between children of divorced parents and children of continually married parents are overestimated. Most experts agree that children of divorce tend to have more negative outcomes in terms of educational achievement, delinquency and crime, psychological well-being, teenage pregnancy, and behavior when compared with children of “intact families.” In addition, children who experienced parental divorce have higher divorce rates than those whose parents remained married. Experts debate about whether there are gender differences in these long-term effects. Moderating the risks for children from divorced families can be attentive and supportive parenting and low levels of conflict between divorced parents. Despite these protective factors, the period immediately following divorce is stressful for children and can lead to anxiety and depression that typically fade within 2 years. The long-term outcomes of children from divorced families ...