What happens when you get married at 22, divorced by 27, and have to figure out who you actually are for the very first time โ as a fully formed adult? Thatโs the question at the heart of this weekโs episode of Divorce Happens, and itโs one that Sarah Vacchiano has spent the last decade not just living, but writing. Sarah is a Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer, a first-time author, and the mother of a four-year-old โ and her debut novel, Soft Launch: A Coming of Adulthood Story, is the kind of book the divorce recovery space has been quietly waiting for. Part roman ร clef, part fresh start manifesto, Soft Launch follows a young woman navigating her first year after divorce in New York City, and the story is drawn unmistakably from Sarahโs own life. In this conversation with host Olivia Howell, Sarah opens up about why she wrote it, what she learned from her early divorce, and why โcoming of adulthoodโ โ not โcoming of ageโ โ was the only framework that fit.
This episode is for anyone who has ever felt too young to be divorced, too old to be starting over, or too ashamed of a decision that was actually the bravest thing they ever did. Sarah and Olivia talk about the importance of representation in divorce media, the way childhood experiences shape the relationships we choose, and what it means to โlive your way into the answerโ โ a Rainer Maria Rilke quote that Sarah has carried through her entire post-divorce journey. And for listeners who love a great beach read with emotional depth, Soft Launch is exactly the kind of divorce novel that makes you feel seen and hopeful at the same time. The takeaway isnโt just about surviving divorce in your 20s or starting fresh after marriage โ itโs about giving yourself permission to become someone new, even if itโs uncomfortable, even if itโs messy, even if it takes ten years to write the book.
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