Brad Pitt Writing Divorce Guide for Men

Brad Pitt, whose travel routine during stressful periods reportedly includes rotating through multiple hotels “to keep the peace and the paparazzi guessing,” dropped into New York this weekend to announce a new project: a tongue-in-cheek guidebook for men navigating the emotional labyrinth of a high-profile separation. The book, tentatively titled Break It Like Brad, is set for release by St. Martin’s Press in fall 2006.

“The conclusion of a marriage is not automatically a failure,” Pitt said during a short media appearance. “For a while I bought into the chatter that duration equals worth. Then, walking on a beach in Kenya one morning, it hit me: the way a marriage winds down can be as meaningful as the way it begins. That realization made me want to help other men approach tough transitions with dignity, clarity, and–ideally–a little humor.”

Remy Auchincloss, Pitt’s editor at St. Martin’s, described the proposal as “a surprisingly humane, gently comic exploration of an emotionally complicated subject.”

“Half of all marriages end in divorce,” Auchincloss said, “and the overwhelming majority of those endings are messy. Brad views that as a missed opportunity. His premise is simple: if you are determined to part ways, you can still do it in a thoughtful, civil, and self-aware manner–preferably without creating new headlines along the way.”

Neither Pitt nor Auchincloss would reveal specific chapter titles, although Pitt hinted that the book emphasizes “emotional equilibrium over material accumulation.”

“Beach houses come and go,” he noted, “but a well-handled goodbye has staying power.”

A junior editor at St. Martin’s who previewed the manuscript called it “unexpectedly philosophical, with practical suggestions for maintaining grace under scrutiny while reorganizing one’s personal life.”

In other news, President Bush expressed mild irritation at the number of reporters who continue to debate whether Koran should be spelled Qur’an.