It was once said that the family is the cornerstone of American society and the foundation of our freedom. Families satisfy the human desire to belong and help promote the values ​​we hold dear. Yet, with each passing year, more and more American families are subjected to tragedies such as divorce, abandonment, and estrangement. In his novel The Last Song, author Nicholas Sparks describes the lives of three young people whose families are all destroyed by one of these things. Many of the negative consequences these adolescents face as a result of their home climate are reflected in the burning issues facing our society today, including crime, violence, academic underachievement, and substance abuse. Although they fight separate battles and deal with grief in their own ways, these kids learn, as we all must, that family is a necessary pillar of life and worth fighting for. Ronnie Miller, the protagonist, may stand out as a piano prodigy, but in one respect he is all too much like most American children: his parents are divorced. About 50% of all marriages in the United States today end in divorce, usually for reasons such as poor communication, abuse and infidelity. Studies have shown that the effects of divorce on children are, at best, unpleasant; these kids are twice as likely to drop out of high school and have a greater tendency for behavioral and psychological problems such as violence and depression. Ronnie is a prime example of these findings, brazenly flaunting his disdain for grades or the law, and verbally attacking his father in every way possible by telling him that, "I've already gone three years without talking to you, and that was the thing simplest I've ever done." She blames her father... middle of paper... she makes speeches about the need for families to build society, but does the family unit really have a really big effect on society? I would say yes, but not only on an idealistic level. If we accept what the research shows us, then we know that the destruction of families is raising a generation of psychologically unstable, dependent, poorly educated, and crime-prone children who will soon become the America of tomorrow. I can only imagine what society will be like when it is full of people like that. How can we now leave them to their self-destruction by saying that the decline of the family is not important? The Last Song may be considered a simple romance novel, but the perspective it offers on the different types of crippled families and how they heal is a valuable vantage point from which to view the plight of the family in our society today..