“We owe it to them to ensure they’re not collateral damage due to this divorce.”

Meet Sarah Armstrong

Sarah works at Google but decided as a side gig to write her book “The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce: What to Think Through When Children Are Involved” largely because it gave her the opportunity to share what she’d learned during her own divorce with others. And that’s not to say her divorce was a cakewalk. It was hard. It provided challenges for her, her ex, and their daughter. But through it all, they maintained the belief that they had to do what was best for their daughter. Hence, the good divorce.

Seth and Pete talk to Sarah about the decision to make the divorce a good one and how it shaped everything from that point forward. They talk about what it means to ‘do what’s best for the children.’ They discuss logistics, scheduling conflicts, and soccer games. They also talk about the battles over things like first right of refusal.

It’s also important to think beyond the years your kids will be under your roofs. What about when they’re older? Are you working to build that relationship beyond 18? How should you act when they’re young? Should you consider counseling for your child?

It’s a wide ranging conversation that digs into a lot of topics that can help you as you work through your own divorce.

About Sarah

Sarah Armstrong, good divorce proponent and author of The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce, is vice president, global marketing operations, at Google and proud mom of Grace, who will be a sophomore in college in the fall of 2022. Sarah is a mentor to other women in business, and longtime volunteer at various nonprofit organizations, including Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation, Georgetown Alumni Admissions Program and Trinity Table Soup Kitchen.

Prior to joining Google, Sarah was a partner at McKinsey & Co. and worked at The Coca-Cola Company in global marketing for twenty years, where she led Worldwide Agency Operations across 200 countries. Sarah started her career at Leo Burnett (Chicago) in Media. Sarah’s work has been recognized around the world, resulting in her being named one of Ad Age’s “Women to Watch” and included in Ad Age’s Book of Tens (“Top Ten Who Made Their Mark in 2009”).

Sarah was raised in Birmingham, Michigan with two younger brothers and happily married parents (for over fifty years and still going strong). She attended Georgetown University, as a scholarship athlete, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Business Administration with a major in marketing. She was a four-year starter on the Georgetown University Volleyball Team.

Sarah loves traveling the world and has been fortunate to travel to 55+ countries. She enjoys exploring new cities with Grace whenever possible. Sarah lives in San Francisco.

Links & Notes

• Sarah’s Website
• Find Sarah on LinkedIn or Facebook
• The Mom’s Guide to a Good Divorce: What to Think Through When Children Are Involved
• Schedule a consult with Seth
• Got a question you want to ask on the show? Click here!

• 00:00 - Welcome to How to Split a Toaster
• 00:26 - Meet Sarah Armstrong
• 01:18 - Advocating for Good Divorce
• 04:30 - Her Own Divorce
• 06:45 - Having a Good Divorce
• 12:56 - Minimizing the Gaps
• 17:35 - Sponsor: Soberlink
• 19:58 - Other Routines
• 24:35 - Kids Adapting to Change
• 29:21 - Making New Lives Work Apart
• 30:22 - Right of Refusal
• 31:45 - Showing Consolidarity
• 35:25 - Navigating as a Working Mom
• 38:22 - Universal Truths
• 39:44 - Introducing New Significant Others
• 42:39 - When They Struggle With Change
• 48:01 - Counseling
• 49:15 - Your Family of Choice
• 52:09 - Sarah's Book and Website