"How do you walk away from a highly functional relationship and a perfectly good guy? How do you pledge fidelity to your soul and agree to blow up your life simultaneously?"​
Rock Paper Scissors, by Cathia Friou
​In her memoir Rock Paper Scissors: Scenes from a Charmed Divorce, Cathia Friou takes readers through an intimate series of vignettes from her marriage, separation, divorce, co-parenting, and re-entry into the dating world. Each chapter stands alone as a piece of clarity, as an appreciation for the good, the bad, and sometimes the absurdity of life. Together, these pieces offer readers hope that a family can remain whole and beautiful despite divorce.
Sometimes divorce happens. Sometimes it's not the end.
What people are saying about Rock Paper Scissors
"Friou attempts to answer that unanswerable question: is there any such thing as a good divorce? With gut-clenching honesty, she tells the story of a marriage that—at least on paper—should have worked and provides snapshot-style glimpses of a family’s rise, fall, and ultimate redemption. Alternately edgy and gentle, heartbreaking and funny, this is a tale for our times."
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- Kim Wright, author of Last Ride to Graceland
“Eloquently written, the scenes radiate candor, vulnerability and love in its many forms … There were moments of grief, humor and inspiration, all delivered with a deep affection for our very human desire for connection … The reason the book resonates and stays with you is the beauty of the prose, the vulnerability with which the author shares, the kindness/decency that infuses her story and with which she treats her former husband and others along her path and, lastly, the humor and wisdom that comes from her well of self-reflection … Sharing one’s life so openly is a risky proposition but I believe she achieved the delicate balance of providing intimate glimpses without over-sharing … As a psychotherapist who works with many people going through divorces, I believe this book will be a great example of how to divorce without animosity and contempt … Well-written, easy to read and full of thoughts and questions that will stick with readers long after they finish the book … This story, and the way it is told, with brutal honesty, tearful emotion and a nice touch of humor, swings from the poignant to the heartwarming, and teaches that there is more than one kind of happy ending … A beautiful book written from the soul.”
Cathia discussing the writing of Rock, Paper, Scissors: Scenes from a Charmed Divorce on Charlotte Readers Podcast (40 mins).