Devastating Effects of Divorce on Kids: Adam Coleman

When Adam Coleman was 8 years old, he was institutionalized after contemplating suicide. He shares his struggles—and the struggles of so many others in America—of growing up without a father in his new book, “The Children We Left Behind: How Western Culture Rationalizes Family Separation and Ignores the Pain of Child Neglect.”

“I went through a lot when I was a kid, and I want my story to be an example that, yes, certain things happen to you when you’re a child, but when you’re an adult, you make life happen for you. So, it is possible to overcome these circumstances,” he says.

Only 60 percent of children in America live with married biological parents. Among black children, it’s 33 percent.

What’s fueling the rise of divorce and family separation in the West? How do we make resilient, two-parent families the norm?

“There are a lot of people who are afraid of marriage, afraid of having children, afraid of being alone with the opposite sex because of their childhood situation,” says Coleman.

“If we demonstrate a household that is proper, that is healthy, then you have more kids who grow up with a good, positive image of having children, wanting a bigger family, of having marriage as the priority.”

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.