Life-Giving Wounds

A Catholic Guide to Healing for Adult Children of Divorce or Separation (Ignatius Press, 2023)

Life-Giving Wounds: A Catholic Guide to Healing for Adult Children of Divorce or Separation gives an in-depth voice to the many wounds of adult children of divorce or separation and offers a path to recovery. It is also a thorough reference for those who love and care for them. Daniel and Bethany Meola draw from their personal experience, theological formation, and academic research — as well as from their work of accompanying hundreds of men and women from broken homes — to provide a compassionate, spiritually rich, and psychologically sound guidebook following the footsteps of the only true healer: Jesus Christ.

The Meolas pray that while reading this book every adult child of divorce or separation feels seen, known, and loved by Christ. This is a book about their grief, but also about their joyful hope. For in Jesus Christ, we are called to not grieve as the world grieves, but to grieve with hope (1 Thes. 4:13).

Read the table of contents and a sample here.

Our book won an award!

We are thrilled to announce that our book Life-Giving Wounds: A Catholic Guide to Healing for Adult Children of Divorce or Separation (Ignatius Press, 2023) won third place in the Family Life division of the annual Catholic Media Association Awards!

The judges gave a wonderful and humbling description of the book, calling it,

"A significant contribution addressing a prevalent issue both within and outside the Church, often overlooked. It could be considered the definitive resource for individuals impacted by division in the family."

We are overjoyed every time someone tells us that our book has helped people, given them new insights and hope, etc. - and we pray that its pages can continue to reach adult children of divorce and those who love

Some of the topics the book covers include:

  • Learning how to grieve well the loss of your parents' love together, no matter the timeline or circumstances

  • Recognizing how your parents' fractured relationship may have affected your faith, identity, relationships, and more

  • Overcoming fears about intimacy and building a strong marriage even when your own parents' relationship didn't last

  • Discovering the healing power of true Christian forgiveness and its connection with healthy boundaries and honoring your parents

  • Counteracting anger, anxiety, and temptations to sin in the wake of your parents' break-up

  • Discussing the role of redemptive suffering in finding healing that lasts (how your wounds can become life-giving)

  • And every other chapter ends with a reflection by Bethany about how to heal together as a couple, including if one person is from a broken home and the other is from an intact home.

Praise for the Life-Giving Wounds book:

  • “A window into a form of suffering that too often goes unrecognized in the Church. Sensitive, well-balanced, practical, theologically rich yet accessible, honest and realistic yet filled with hope.”

    Mary Healy, S.T.D., Author, Healing: Bringing the Gift of God’s Mercy to the World

  • “In today’s world, where broken homes and divorce leave lasting scars, Life-Giving Wounds emerges as a beacon of hope. As one who came from a broken home, I highly recommend this book!”

    Fr. Larry Richards, Be A Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be

  • “Grounded in solid research and the lived experience of many individuals wounded by their parents’ divorce, this book invites the reader to walk a path of healing in light of the Church’s vision of marriage and the wholeness to which we are called in Christ.”

    John Grabowski, Ph.D., Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics, Catholic University of America