(Listener Note: This is Step #7 of this 12 step series. To take full advantage of this please visit our show archive and listen to the episodes in their proper order). Everyone divorcing has a particular version or story of what happened to their marriage and why.  This story is usually from a singular personal perspective, yours.  Your spouse has another story, also singular and personal. Unless your spouse is truly delusional, both stories have a basis in truth yet neither encompasses a whole truth.  In Step 7 Karen and Lisa explore the concept of “story” as differentiated from “what actually happened”.  They provide practices and skills that allow you to become aware of  your story as only one of a number of versions so you can begin to own your part in the unfolding and unraveling of your marriage with compassion and understanding.  As you begin to question your story and look at other ways of interpreting the personalities and events involved, there is a freedom to recognize your role in what happened.  By stepping out of your story and beginning to own your role you open up the possibility of learning and growing through understanding rather than being frozen in place by judgement. Explore ways to detach from your story, free yourself from being a victim of circumstances, recognize and change behaviors that have not been working for you, find acceptance and forgiveness for both yourself and your imperfect companion, and enjoy a broader range of choices and options that lay hidden behind your story.  Simply, you will meet the perspectives and tools that will allow you to grow and heal through your pain.  Grab your FREE 12 Step Flash Guide at www.divorcerecoverylifeline.com For more information on Journey Beyond Divorce visit: www.jbddivorcesupport.com.