Hop & Skip Along 

Reading has no age limit! I'm aware that this statement is open to argument because we start reading only at the age of the cognitive ability: for some is at 3, for others it develops later in school. But, once started, it seems to be impossible to stop. It stays with us for the rest of our lives, even when we need thick reading glasses or someone to read out for us. We become happy prisoners of a life-long habit.

I cannot talk for other people, but for those I know and who I share the same "form of entertainment" with, reading is like drinking coffee/tea, brushing teeth, wearing a favorite shirt, walking tall through the crowd or dancing in the rain with a red umbrella. It's a continuous adventure that never lets you down and gives you thrills compared to those of rollercoaster rides. 

Guiding young children through the reading process feels like an one-in-a-lifetime experience, simply because no child is like any other; and the process' milestones uniquely mark the development of cognitive skills in such a way that young minds open to the world with courage and curiosity. Shortly, reading makes the kids superheroes by challenging them to dare and explore.

Beyond the cliché-istic pedagogical emphasis on " set for success" or "brain activity boost", most studies agree on the fact that reading at a young age helps the kids (and later on the adults) to navigate through whatever life throws at them with creativity, fearlessness and, why not, with courtesy. It takes a whole village of books to raise a child, but this village is the best army ever a child can get.      

Storytelling

In general, telling a story or simply describing an event to someone, makes them open up about their own story; they become storytellers in a trivial conversation, they tend to create a world within a dialog. Storytelling is therapeutic (#storytelling).

Kids benefit from this "treatment" the moment they listen to the first story; parents and educators use storytelling not only as a teaching tool, but also as a soothing "gadget". Nothing calms better a child than a bedtime story. Nothing makes him/her happier than listening to the adventures of the knight passing through the dragon lands or of the wise girl solving the mystery of the hidden treasure. Projecting and extrapolating, children would build up their own knights, castles, dragons, adventures to counter-weigh the daily existence. If you get them started on storytelling, they'll end up mastering the art of teleporting: to a fictional world. Moreover, storytelling  speeds up the reading learning process. 

Among other benefits of reading from an early age, such as extensive vocabulary, better cognitive development, social skills, empathy, and academic performance, creativity is one of the most important: creativity is the key to boosting self-confidence and mental capacity. Neuroscientists drafted various studies (Brain Connectivity Vol. 3, No. 6 Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain) showing that reading a novel improves different brain functions and traces of the brain activity linger days after the novel reading has been finished. Not surprising that lots of people state that, after finishing such or such novel, they needed to let it sink for at least a couple of days before staring a new one. Brain doesn't need to rest (see the brain activity chronograph); on the contrary, it needs more time to work out the reading traces.

Young and reading-ready

There are plenty of tools available online (#kidsreading) or professionals specialized in helping with starting the reading training in young kids. The most important one is consistency with the reading routine. Create a schedule, find the best time, encourage, read along, explain words or idioms, role-read, and don't give up. Eventually kids will read by their own and, if cultivated, the pleasure of reading will measure up with the other pleasures in their lives. Once more, reading improves children's health and overall well-being, preparing them to become interesting individuals and knowledgeable adults with different cultural flavors.    

There is no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books. (James Patterson)

Reading not only entertains children and keeps them busy, but also creates a thinking hygiene that helps them act responsibly and logically, assist them in mastering the art of conversation, and allow them to easily handle concepts and ideas.

I had the chance to accompany lots of kids through the reading learning process. Once they get hooked up, they never fail to benefit from and enjoy reading throughout their whole life.

Without financial struggle and emotional turmoil

With all the gloom and doom implied by this answer, you do not divorce a narcissist, but fight for your (own) freedom; if you have kids with the narc, for their freedom, as well. You can move on, have another life, save your finances, escape depression (and, in some cases, even suicide), flee out of the tyranny of a relationship with a narc, live at the other end of the planet, but the divorce will be, in most cases, only factual and/or legal. On an emotional level, the real divorce from a narc takes too many years and too many resources to simply call it “divorce”. Divorcing a narc is the worse divorce ever.

Being married to a narcissist feels like a chronical debilitating pain with no cure or hope for treatment. Divorcing a narcissist feels like

There is no good recipe, only smart tricks to make it easier on you, the one who married a narc in the first place!

Kill Bill 3.0

You probably feel like The Bride (Uma Thurman) in the famous Tarantino's movie: waking up from a coma-like marriage after your partner tried to murder your soul every single second of your life together. Even if you feel unstoppable on your revenge path, don't give in to vengeance, but create an upgraded version of yourself.

Focus on the legal aspect of the divorce with a cold-cut mind as if it’s a math problem, not an emotional situation. Bottom-line, divorcing a narc is an exercise in brainpower, not just a practice of a procedure.

• Be in control of your own finances up to the last dime. The narc is gonna come strong after your money, even the money you potentially will earn or obtain (future income, possible inheritance, properties, bonds, pieces of art, even Star Wars toys if they could have any value). The narc will make you responsible for their own debt or any other kind of financial loss, forcing your hand to take the blame and pay for it. They’ll quit their jobs – if they have any – just to claim spousal support and/or child support. Money is the most important layer of the narc personality because it ensures the image of grandiosity and power they tend to project all the time. The narc needs money to shine! And if it’s your money, that makes it even shinier!

• Don’t get emotional in their presence or other people’s; the narc will leverage any tear you shed and turn it against you as “emotional instability”. You will be pictured as crazy, depressed, mentally unfit to even sign the divorce papers, let aside to be part of co-parenting (if kids are involved). Cry with your therapist, your teddy bear, your meditation app, but don’t shed or waste a tear when the narc (and/or his/her flying monkeys) is/ are around. The narc needs other people’s emotional crumble to boost their ego! And your tears are the most valuable diamonds on the narc’s crown!

• Have your family on your side; I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but the narc will turn your own family against you. Not because your family won’t side with you, but simply because in the narc’s version of reality you are not worth it to your own family. And she/he will constantly work on proving to your family how dysfunctional, crazy and/or out-of-shape you are. You don’t worth a penny to them and this is gonna be the narc’s marketing campaign; she/he is gonna sent it out to absolutely everyone, even people who you only crossed paths with. People’s support and admiration is the air of the narc! The more people on their side, the more breathing air for the narc.

• Don’t doubt for a second that you have been in an abusive relationship, because you have certainly been! And probably still are, as long as you are legally fighting (hence the divorce proceedings) for your freedom and your emotional integrity (freeing yourself from the trauma-bond and the abuse).

• Don’t rely on the prenup, in case you have one. The narc will contest it to the most insignificant detail by playing the victim (in front of the lawyers, judges, kids, family and friends). If kids are involved, the fight is gonna move towards getting full custody (hence, full authority and control power) to request child support. Prenup becomes a tool to prove you were never ready and sure to be in a relationship, hence the need of a prenup that you pushed the narc into. Putting the blame on you is the most efficient legal strategy the narc will use against you.

• Get a lawyer, a good one, a lawyer who is familiar with borderline personalities. Open up about the abusive relationship with the narc! Give the lawyer details on the emotional/physical abuse you’ve been through. Don’t spare any detail! Don’t assume details are irrelevant! The narc counts on you not being able to recall these details, as you are an emotional wreck during the divorce! Your memory is one of your best allies.

• Get a therapist and be consistent with working with the therapist on breaking the trauma-bond that the narc created along the relationship. Don’t be ashamed to mention and insist on emotional and/or physical abuse. Use both sides of the therapy blade: recovering from abuse and documenting the relationship with the narc. The therapist can write reports to be used in court for your own (and your kids’) benefit!

• Double check any single detail in the divorce agreement before signing anything. Follow your guts and if something sounds unclear or debatable, work with your lawyer and re-word it. Don’t be cheap with paying legal-time! Don’t be cheap with your own time invested in reviewing and re-thinking the agreement. On a long term, your time invested in such activity will pay off!

• Keep a diary. Use the diaries that you had in the past, if you did! Make lists! Put on  paper (or a notepad app) everything that you remember having happened during the relationship and during the breakup. Underline and discuss with all the professionals (therapist, family doctor, priest, co-workers, boss) about all the abusive events – past or ongoing.

• Keep all emails, text messages, twitter tweets, facebook postings, logs, bank account statements and receipts, every single piece of information pointing at the abusive behavior of the narc. Physical proofs are the best proofs! The narc hates them, but she/he cannot contest all of them in court! The more proofs of the abusive behavior, the better for you!

• Avoid any contact, conversation, email/text exchange if it’s not a really important and pressing matter: kids safety, for example. Don’t initiate contact with the narc. Ask the lawyer to do it on your behalf, if it’s necessary. If you feel threaten (or afraid for your kids), call the police, make an official statement with a police officer – insist on the physical/emotional abuse. Call domestic abuse support organizations or groups! Have everything filed and recorded! Don’t hesitate to use any resource at your disposal, even if only to get informed.

• Record (audio) all conversations with the narc (and the kids, if kids involved); the recordings could be turned into proofs!

• Work constantly on your own image: dress properly, smile, don’t get drunk or high, keep your job, sleep good sleeps, have decent conversations, don’t lash out on social media platforms, have meaningful relationships (avoid one-night stands), don’t use your kids as shoulders to cry on, don’t obsess over your divorce or the narc, focus on hobbies or volunteer activities, read, write, don’t watch-binge! Be your best self, even if deep down you are your worst. Fake it till you make it!

• Divorcing a narc is a time-sensitive process. Take your time! Don’t rush into anything! As long as there is no pressing issue, don’t act on it! Don’t answer any email right away, don’t call back immediately, don’t react! Once more, use the time to think, process, analyze, discuss with professionals and put up a plan! The more time you give yourself, the more frustrating is for the narc. Because she/he counts on your immediate reaction! Be very cheap with your reactions, but be very generous with your actions.

I’d wish you good luck, but I know from my own experience that not luck is what you need when divorcing a narc. What you need is your own thinking power, legal strategies, day-by-day fuel and emotional detachment.