ABSTRACT
Values, morals, beliefs, likes, and dislikes all stem from our family of origin and our “community.” What we consider an acceptable or unacceptable solution to a problem often falls back to what was an acceptable solution to our parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. When a marriage is in trouble or totally disintegrating, human beings will lean towards trying to do what family or community considers an acceptable solution. This chapter explores the influence of family and community on the experiences of divorce for the participants. For some of the participants, divorce was not acceptable in the eyes of family or community; for some, divorce was just a part of life. For a few of the participants, their spouses did not give them a choice to stay married, but they were still penalized by those who disapproved.
