Irreconcilable Dissonance -- Brian Doyle

Brian Doyle, author of “Irreconcilable Dissonance,” experienced firsthand the perils of growing up in a household with his disputing parents -- along with watching his friends and coworkers experience the same struggles. Doyle points out that anyone could fall victim to divorce at any time, which constitutes his audience to anyone reading the essay. Doyle explains: "The instant there is no chance of death is the moment of death." In the United States alone, 50% of all marriages end in divorce. That means there is about 1 divorce every 13 seconds in the United States, which adds up to about 6,646 divorces per day and around 46,523 divorces in a single week. What was once a rare occurrence has now become the go-to outlet for married couples experiencing turmoil in their relationship. Yet, what is even more dismal than the aforementioned statistics is the reason behind they are what they are. While many divorces are caused by a hindered relationship, there are divorces caused by small things such as "one man who got divorced so he could watch all sixty episodes of The Wire in chronological order" nonetheless. In many divorces, the couple simply claims to be tired; tired of fighting, tired of being unhappy, tired of being where they are. Doyle makes a point of this by saying, "...so if what makes a marriage work (the constant shifting of expectations and eternal parade of small surprises) is also what causes marriages to dissolve, where is it safe to stand? Nowhere, of course." Merely anything can lead to divorce, so the state of being "safe" is virtually nonexistent. It is through these lessons – coupled with imagery of decade-long marriages ending due to the smallest reason, such as a practical joke – that Doyle teaches the reader to become aware of the possibility of divorce, so as to help the reader to accept that living in fear of divorce only makes it easier for you to become victim to it.

American Divorce Infographic 

Divorce statistics in America -- dailyinfographic.com