{"id":42225,"date":"2014-05-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/"},"modified":"2014-05-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T00:00:00","slug":"son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/","title":{"rendered":"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent&#8217;s Divorce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In his memoir, Greg Bellow, the son of the famous 20th century American novelist Saul Bellow, writes movingly about his relationship with his father. A reviewer for <em class=\"citation\">The New Yorker<\/em> magazine called Greg&#39;s book less a memoir than a &quot;speaking wound.&quot; Greg was eight years old when his father told him that he and Greg&#39;s mom were separating. The father and son were sitting on a bench in Central Park when the news was delivered. Greg wrote:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I responded by making a snowball and letting it fly at a nearby pigeon. What I really wished for was the courage to hit my father with the snowball. Under the childhood anger my father expected and hoped to see was sadness born of losing the parent who understood me the best. At eight, I felt like a deep-sea diver cut off from my air supply.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>The reviewer concluded his article on Greg Bellow&#39;s book by stating, &quot;At sixty-nine, Greg Bellow is still the drowning deep-sea diver.&quot;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[306],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[409,411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3519,3524,3569,3823,3967,3968,3969,3971,4195,4425,4454,4595,4596],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-42225","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-boys","tax_ctp_tags-brokenness","tax_ctp_tags-children","tax_ctp_tags-divorce","tax_ctp_tags-fathers-day","tax_ctp_tags-fatherhood","tax_ctp_tags-fatherhood-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-fathers","tax_ctp_tags-hurt","tax_ctp_tags-marriage","tax_ctp_tags-men","tax_ctp_tags-parenthood","tax_ctp_tags-parenting"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Son Carries Father Wound After Parent&#039;s Divorce - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent&#039;s Divorce - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his memoir, Greg Bellow, the son of the famous 20th century American novelist Saul Bellow, writes movingly about his relationship with his father. A reviewer for The New Yorker magazine called Greg&#039;s book less a memoir than a &quot;speaking wound.&quot; Greg was eight years old when his father told him that he and Greg&#039;s Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/\",\"name\":\"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent's Divorce - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-26T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-26T00:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent&#8217;s Divorce\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent's Divorce - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/son-carries-father-wound-after-parents-divorce\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Son Carries Father Wound After Parent's Divorce - CT Pastors","og_description":"In his memoir, Greg Bellow, the son of the famous 20th century American novelist Saul Bellow, writes movingly about his relationship with his father. 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