Explorations of Post‐Divorce Experiences: Women's Reconstructions of Self1

In this article I explore from a social constructionist perspective the experiences of women when recovering from divorce. Women have a natural resilience and develop unique ways of coping with the experience of divorce through reconstructing themselves in their linguistic and cultural context. Divorced women often face dominant discourses that elicit intense internal discomfort, conflict, and loss of socially constructed self. This can result in their experiencing themselves as less meaningful and worthy as relational beings. I explore the processes by which four women, single again, have experienced these constraints and emerged as reconstructed selves. The discussion is based on qualitative analysis of textual data obtained from written accounts.