Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Words Matter: Broken Home

You may not know this, but I come from a broken home. That's right. My folks were divorced. They had a troubled marriage.

Given that, this brief essay by my buddy Lucinda Ellison Lu hit home. As you read it, remember: Words hurt, words heal, words matter.

Here's Lucinda's take:

As a divorced woman, I have often come across phrases that really bug me. There are all kinds of ways to describe a divorce, or divorced people, or children whose parents are divorced. My least favorite phrase is: broken home. As in, “He comes from a broken home.”

So if the home is broken, that would imply that somehow it can be fixed. Can’t you just find a handyman in the yellow pages who specializes in fixing broken homes? And if that’s true, I am definitely in the wrong business. With what appears to be a recent spike in the number of divorces in my community, those guys should be doing a lot of business. My home’s not the only that’s “broken.”

If I go a step further, what about those homes where the marriage isn’t happy? What about those couples who choose to stay together and limp along with a troubled marriage? Would you call their homes “repair challenged?”

Troubled marriage – now there’s another one. Just what did the marriage do to get into trouble anyway?

Just sayin’ …
Thanks to Lucinda for today's guest essay!

Is there a word or phrase that particularly bothers you? Let me know. Maybe we'll rant about it. 

No comments: