Presents a study on divorce and its place in modern society from the perspective of the recently-divorced author, discussing the pain that accompanies ending a relationship as well as the new opportunities it presents.In 2003,Rachel CuskpublishedA Life's Work, a provocative and often startlingly funny memoir about the cataclysm of motherhood. Widely acclaimed, the book started hundreds of arguments that continue to this day. Now, in her most personal and relevant book to date,Cuskexplores divorce's tremendous impact on the lives of women. An unflinching chronicle of Cusk's own recent separation and the upheaval that followed -"a jigsaw dismantled"- it is also a vivid study of divorce's complex place in our society.Aftermathoriginally signified a second harvest, and in this book, unlike any other written on the subject, Cusk discovers opportunity as well as pain."Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation starkly illustrates what comes after motherhood, at least for Cusk, in an abstract style that will speak closely to some while leaving others wishing for a more sequential retrospection of Cusk's marriage and subsequent divorce … Cusk does write intimately about her family's life with, and without, her husband – just not in the voyeuristic manner that our society has grown used to...Whether there is a defining incident that caused Cusk's separation from her husband we don't know, and nor should we necessarily care. Cusk's focus is on the pain and grief that accompanies the deterioration of a marriage and a life built together, specifically when it involves children ... As philosophical as this memoir may be, Cusk also deftly balances exposing her depleted mental state with her physical deterioration."-Meganne Fabrega, The Minneapolis Star TribuneWith candour as fearless as it is affecting,Rachel Cuskmaps a transformative chapter of her life with acuity and wit that will help us understand our own.