ACOD: Bridging the Gap

A Practical Guide for Adult Children of Divorce to Heal, Build Trust, and Thrive in Relationships

ACOD: Bridging the Gap is a practical, steady companion for anyone who grew up in a divided home and is still feeling the aftershocks—sometimes quietly, sometimes everywhere.

If you’re an ACOD (Adult Child of Divorce), you may look “fine” on the outside while carrying patterns you didn’t choose: difficulty trusting people fully, anxiety when relationships get close, a pull toward conflict avoidance (or conflict repetition), and the strange exhaustion of navigating family dynamics that never really settled. Researchers and clinicians often describe themes like trust and attachment strain after parental divorce—not as a life sentence, but as a pattern that can be understood and changed.

This book helps you name what happened, understand how it shaped your instincts, and build a healthier way forward—without blaming yourself, and without getting stuck in the past.

Inside ACOD: Bridging the Gap, you’ll learn how to:

• Acknowledge your ACOD story without minimizing it or letting it define you

• Rebuild trust in relationships and recognize what “safe” actually feels like

• Navigate complex family dynamics (loyalty binds, remarriage/stepfamilies, messy boundaries, and old roles that keep reappearing)

• Re-imagine relationships after divorce so you can choose connection without fear

• Set goals for a fulfilling life that reflect who you are now—not who you had to become to cope

• Create healthy relationship patterns with clearer communication, stronger boundaries, and less emotional whiplash

• Cultivate emotional well-being with tools for regulation, reflection, and self-respect

• Empower your future with practical steps that turn insight into real-world change

• Use a resource guide for Adult Children of Divorce to continue your healing beyond the final page

Whether your parents divorced decades ago, or you’re still dealing with the ripple effects of “gray divorce” as an adult, your story is allowed to matter—and your relationships are allowed to get easier.

You can’t rewrite your childhood. But you can stop it from running your adulthood.