HEATHER ORCHARD

American Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What has prepared Heather in life is finding her purpose and having a passion to make a difference. Growing up she was known as quiet, shy, pretty, but nice. At times she felt like she lived in a world where she wondered if she would ever be TRULY seen, heard, and understood for who she was. She fit in - but she never felt like she truly belonged.

This is where her depression started and this is when she found writing to be a way of therapy for her. Her writing was a way that she could display her thoughts in a safe place - her journal. Her writing allowed her to feel seen, heard, and understood by the pages she was writing on - even if they would never be read, she was able to express herself freely with no outside judgment…. That was a life-changing moment for Heather because for the first time - she was able to feel the power of her writing and realized it was - her gift.

BEHIND THE BOOKS

What inspired Heather to write this children's book on divorce, remarriage and stepparents was to help give other blended families like her own to have faith, love, and courage. Faith that everything will work out. Love every day even if it is a struggle, and courage that you will always try, and never give up. Heather wanted to also teach and show young children how blended families can be positive and bring happiness to any situation.

AVAILABLE RETAILERS

My SUPER Family - A Book for Blended Families that covers the topics of divorce, remarriage, and stepparents is available online on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, eBay, Books A Million, Good Reads, Book Topia, Indie Bound, BLACKWELL'S, Mightyape, Indigo, and more to come!

My SUPER Family by Heather Orchard is now sold in 7 countries - the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, United Kingdom, and Norway.

DIVORCE IN AMERICA

"Every 13 seconds, there is
one divorce in America.
That equates to:
277 divorces per hour,
6,646 divorces per day,
46,523 divorces per week, and
2,419,196 divorces per year.

Over the past 50 years, divorce in America has seen one of the most significant cultural shifts. Divorce has redefined the definition of what a family is in today’s modern society.

In the United States, researchers estimate that 40 percent to 50 percent of all first marriages, and 60 percent of second marriages, will end in divorce. No other industrialized nation has a higher divorce rate than the United States.

The number of children born out of wedlock each year, 1.3 million, is greater than the number whose parents divorce each year, 1 million. It is no longer the social norm for premarital couples to feel like they have to get married, because of an unplanned pregnancy.

Over the last fifty years, marriage has become less common and more fragile, and the proportion of children raised outside of intact marriages has increased dramatically. Each year, over 1 million American children suffer the divorce of their parents.

“National studies show that children from divorced and remarried families experience more depression, have more learning difficulties, and suffer from more problems with peers than children from intact families," writes Judith Wallerstein, widely considered the world's foremost authority on the effects of divorce on children. The effects of divorce on children can range from mild to severe and from short-term to long-term. Although divorce can affect every child differently, the effects that divorce can have on children do not necessarily apply to every child of divorced parents.

Thus, today we know that divorce is a common thing that happens to quite a bit of us here in the United States. It is even said that 60 percent of second marriages end in a divorce. So every year our marriages are up against the odds. Every year the numbers change, and every year after that gives us the opportunity to do better! By doing better, let's first start with our children... Why our children, you might ask? Because they are a part of our lives and a big piece to the puzzle, and evidently they hold a lot of power, especially after a divorce and entering a second marriage. Children need attention too; they need devotion, love, and encouragement that everything will work out in the end.