The Not Quite Right Cake

Book excerpt: Sara and her children are baking three cakes-but these are no ordinary cakes. Sara has set up this baking time to help her explain to her children a very difficult subject: divorce. She gives each child the freedom to experiment with their cake. When they don’t quite follow the instructions, their cakes turn out differently than they expected. Marriage is like a cake. It has a recipe, and if you don’t follow it, sometimes it doesn’t work out. It’s no one’s fault, but it does mean that it’s time to say goodbye to that not-quite-right cake. As Sara and her children navigate this hard conversation, they teach the children reading along how to understand divorce in their own lives, what it means for their parents—and for them.