E. Mavis Hetherington, professor emeritus of psychology, U.Va., and John Kelly, writer. For Better or For Worse: Divorce Reconsidered. W.W. Norton.
Debunking popular wisdom on the devastating psychological and social effects of divorce, Mavis Hetherington presents a more nuanced picture. Her landmark study gathers nearly three decades of research involving 1,400 families and explores divorce not as a moment but as a life process.

Among Hetherington’s findings explained in the book:

• how women and girls experience divorce differently from men and boys;

• why single mother-son relationships and stepfather-stepdaughter relationships are the most difficult;

• why divorce presents a greater risk to adolescent children;

• how mentoring and authoritative parenting can buffer against negative effects.

This unprecedented look at our divorce-prone society concludes that the aftermath of divorce need not be a prescribed pathway of dissolution but can be one of healing and fulfillment.

Dr. Anita H. Clayton, professor of psychiatric medicine, U.Va., and Dr. Susan Kornstein, ambulatory care psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, editors. Women’s Mental Health: A Comprehensive Textbook. Guilford Press.

“The complex factors of reproductive health that create the different stages a woman goes through in her life, from puberty to menopause, have a big impact on both her physical and mental health,” Clayton said. “Not only are women’s risk factors for heart disease different from men’s, we now are seeing many other chronic conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, occurring mostly in females. Women’s roles as caregivers in the family also involves different mental health risks and disorders. All these factors need to be taken into account in treating women’s mental health conditions.”