This text is based on a research project on the psychology of divorce dispute resolution, funded by the ESRC and conducted between April 1996 and June 1997. The research developed a "psycho-social" approach to divorce, which combined psychological and sociological methods and insights with an understanding of law-in-context. Using detailed analysis of case study material, the book discusses the neglected question of how adults cope with divorce, and how their strategies for survival interact with dispute resolution processes. The book is about the psychology of divorce at both an individual and a social level. The discussion is centred upon research work, but the stories which the participants told also provides a point from which to link up with wider theoretical explorations in sociology, psychology and psychoanalysis.