An objective look at family break-up in all its forms - mainly separation and divorce, but also covering death and serious illness. It begins with a look at the history of the family from ancient times until the present and the large changes that have come about since the 1960s. There are good sections on the reasons for break-ups, the questions young people ask, the reactions of different age groups, how social services can help, coping with new families, keeping in touch with the absent parent (including a discussion of how parents can make a child feel like piggy-in-the-middle), and sections on ethical and religious views. The chapter on getting help ends with a list of contact organisations in the UK and Australia, as well as a bibliography of further reading. While a certain amount of repetition is noticeable, this is probably inevitable given the organisation of the book, and great care is taken to make no value judgements.