Includes bibliographical references and index.

Publisher Fact Sheet,There is a major new trend in marriage, one that is surfacing in the media, popping up in conversation, & drawing the attention of politicians & pundits. Magazines from NATIONAL REVIEW to TEEN PEOPLE have weighed in on the issue. But until now, no book has addressed this phenomenon & explained what's happening, why, & what it means. Since 1990, an increasing - some might say alarming - number of couples are marrying & divorcing before they turn thirty years old. Demographers predict an intensification of this trend over the next decade. At a recent meeting of the World Future Society, one futurist predicted that within the next century, Americans will marry four times over the course of their lifetimes. With divorce rates topping 50%, is the traditional notion of marriage doomed? Drawing on over fifty interviews with men & women who will soon be, are, or have been married, I DO ... FOR NOW looks at why so many young Americans are optimistic about marriage despite climbing divorce rates & the fact that their own parents are often divorced. In a lively, engaging, provocative narrative, Paul puts the issue in social & cultural perspective. She explains how the attitudes of Gen X & Gen Y differ from those of previous generations, & how their parents' marriages & divorces have shaped their own. She looks at the hopes & motivations of couples marrying today, the ways in which they think of & approach the institution of marriage, & the realities of their experiences within it. Most importantly, this book examines what the "starter marriage" trend means for the future of marriage in this country: how & why we'll continue to marry in the twenty-first century.

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