Replies to '09/25 Fireproof Your Marriage'

Quote From: proudcopswife

We recommend all First Responders' families read 'Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement" by Kevin Gilmartin. Although the book was written from a Law Enf perspective, the concepts and facts are applicable for all First Responders.

Thank you, Dr Phil, for giving visibility to the tragic divorce statistics of First Responders' marriages. My husband has been a cop for 18 years. I have watched the man I love with struggle with cynicism and pride, characteristics that no one would have used to describe him 18 years ago. Characteristics that keep him alive on street today. First Responders often become participants on the worst day of someone's life. They see the brutality, and it impacts their perspective and personality in order for them to stay alive. That is my husband's only goal each day....STAY ALIVE. The lady on the show got it right who spoke of listening to her husband at the end of the day, to let him unload the weight of the world. It may not be a pleasant story that we hear, but hear it we must in order to keep them alive. We divorced our 7th year, but God restored our hearts and our marriage the following year. We'll be married 20 years in Dec. We count our separation and divorce as part of those 20 years because through the reconciliation process we learned how to meet each other's needs when one is in a high-stress occupation. Oh how much we have learned over the years!!