The Art of Splitting Up

Atlantic articles on divorce, breakups, and what comes next

The Art of Splitting Up

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.

Just as the institution of marriage has evolved, so has the institution of divorce. In a review of Haley Mlotek’s new divorce memoir, the writer Rachel Vorona Cote traces the introduction of “no fault “ divorce—a split without the designation of blame. California was the first state to legalize such divorces, in 1969; New York, in 2010, was the last.

Sometimes, splitting up involves placing or sharing blame. Other times, it’s more simply about making a new choice for where you want life to take you—but simplicity doesn’t mean ease. Today’s reading list rounds up Atlantic stories on saying goodbye.


On Splitting Up

Dear Therapist: I Don’t Know How to Help My Best Friend Through Her Divorce


By Lori Gottlieb

How I Demolished My Life


By Honor Jones

The High Cost of Divorce


By Olga Khazan


Still Curious?


Other Diversions


P.S.

A photograph of trees in red foliage and beyond it the sunset colors on a beach of Great Sacandaga Lake in New York
Courtesy of Sarah C.

Each week, I ask readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Sarah C. from Northville, New York, shared this photo, taken by her husband, of the “peaceful, vibrant colors of fall on our beach, located on the Great Sacandaga Lake.”

I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. If you’d like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission.

— Isabel

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