Sascha Rothchild carried on a family tradition last month at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla., where she celebrated the publication of her memoir, How to Get Divorced by 30: My Misguided Attempt at a Starter Marriage (Plume, $15, 9780452295995/0452295998). Her father, John Rothchild, has appeared at the store numerous times over the years to promote his works, among them Up for Grabs: A Trip Through Time and Space in the Sunshine State.
A feature about Rothchild in the Miami Herald helped draw a crowd of more than 100, including some surprise guests. Several of her former teachers showed up, as did the principal of her high school, who later thanked Rothchild for not mentioning the school by name when she read a passage from the book about her not-so-memorable years there.
In How to Get Divorced by 30, Rothchild recalls her walk down the aisle at 27 and the decision she made to end the union less than three years later. But there's more to her story than a short-lived marriage. "Although the book is titled How to Get Divorced by 30, it's very much a memoir of my life and doesn't just deal with my relationship with my ex-husband," Rothchild noted.
The event at Books & Books turned into a therapy session of sorts for some attendees. "The book is candid and fun, and I think that made people feel comfortable," Rothchild said. "They'd walk right up to me and say, 'I've been divorced two times' or 'My daughter is 29 and getting a divorce.' " A 20-something woman revealed that she was going to be reading the book for personal reasons: she wants a divorce and hadn't yet told her husband. "So many young people are getting divorced," Rothchild continued. "It's not necessarily a great trend, but it is happening, and I think it's good to deal with it in a positive way."
Rothchild is a film and TV writer, a guest blogger on PoliticsDaily.com and PsychologyToday.com, and has been featured on NPR's This American Life. How to Get Divorced by 30 came about after she wrote a magazine article on the topic. When she later landed the book deal, she called her father and asked for advice. "I said, 'How am I going to write a book?' " she recalled. Dad's response? One page at a time. Rothchild also asked him for insight on whether to include certain personal details. "He told me the minute you're wondering if you should put something out there, that's the good stuff."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt