"The companion book to a national PBS documentary narrated by Cokie Roberts."

Preface / Don Browning -- 1. Where are We and How did We get Here? -- 2. What About the Children? -- 3. Looking for Love -- 4. Looking Back -- 5. Is There a New Inequality? -- 6. What About Fathers? -- 7. Where are we Going?

"Marriage - Just a Piece of Paper? goes beyond conservative-liberal battles over the state of the American family and addresses head-on the difficult question of marriage itself, weaving together scores of revealing interviews with children, adults, and well-known experts, the book poignantly captures their voices and the complexities of their loves, hopes, disappointments, and heartbreaks." "We hear from children of divorce, young African-American men teaching fatherhood skills, and young couples trying to decide whether to live together or marry. We hear from mothers, fathers, ministers, judges, and therapists. We also hear from prominent politicians and scholars, including Joseph Lieberman (U.S. senator from Connecticut), Sam Brownback (U.S. senator from Kansas), William Julius Wilson (Harvard University), Judith Wallerstein (author of The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce), David Blankenhorn (Institute for American Values), Wade Horn (National Fatherhood Initiative), Linda Waite (coauthor of The Case for Marriage), Frank Keating (governor of Oklahoma), and Judith Martin (better known as "Miss Manners")." "Tied to a nationally broadcast PBS documentary narrated by Cokie Roberts, the book goes far beyond the film by providing more and fuller interviews. For anyone interested in life's most significant relationship, Marriage - Just a Piece of Paper? will prove an invaluable resource."--BOOK JACKET.