071 - Exploring The World Of Gray Divorce. 

Adult children are often overlooked and forgotten when their parents divorce later in life, but in these
pages they will find comfort and understanding for the many feelings, frustrations, and challenges
they face.

For more than two decades, a silent revolution has been occurring and creating a seismic shift in the
American family and families in other countries. It has been unfolding without much comment, and its
effects are being felt across three to four generations: more couples are divorcing later in life. Called the
“gray divorce revolution,” the cultural phenomenon describes couples who divorce after the age of 50.

Overlooked in the issues that affect couples divorcing later in in life are the adult children of divorcing

parents. Their voices open this book, and they are the voices of men and women, 18 to 50 years old.
Some of them are single; some are married. Some have children of their own. All of them are in different
stages of shock, fear, and sudden, dramatic change.

In Home Will Never Be the Same: A Guide for Adult Children of Gray Divorce, Carol Hughes and Bruce
Fredenburg share their deep understanding gained during the innumerable hours they have spent with
these women and men in their clinical practices. The result is a valuable resource for these too often
forgotten adult children, many of whom find that, whenever they express their feelings and experiences,
the most important people in their lives frequently ignore and dismiss them.

As the divorce rate for older adults soars, so too does the number of adult children who are
experiencing parental divorce. Yet, these adult children frequently say that they are the only ones who
are aware of what they are going through, no one understands what they are experiencing, and they
feel painfully alone.

About the authors:
Carol Hughes, PhD, LMFT, holds her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and her master’s degree in
Counseling Psychology, achieving both summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors. She is also a two-
time Fulbright Scholar. Carol served for ten years as an Associate Professor of Human Services at
Saddleback College. In her practice in Laguna Hills, CA, as a California licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist and family-focused divorce professional, for more than thirty years, she has assisted hundreds
of divorcing families, as a therapist, child and co-parenting specialist, divorce coach, and mediator.

Bruce Fredenburg, MS, LMFT, has been a California licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for more
than 30 years and is Board Certified in Clinical Hypnosis. He was a college instructor in Human Services
at Saddleback College and at the National Medical Review School in Southern California. He also created
and taught parenting classes for adoptive and foster parents. Trained and experienced in chronic pain
management, trauma, addictions, mediation, and collaborative divorce, in his practice in Laguna Hills,
CA, Bruce helps families as a therapist, divorce coach, co-parenting specialist, and mediator.