Here are 100 books that The Journey from Abandonment to Healing fans have personally recommended if you like
The Journey from Abandonment to Healing.
Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
As a counselor and infidelity specialist for 33 years, I have had a passion for helping couples and individuals reconcile when possible or find healing for themselves in the aftermath of an affair. I never dreamed I’d go through this experience in my own marriage. Back then (1999–2001), few books addressed what I was going through. Most either focused on repairing a marriage after infidelity or general divorce recovery. Nothing addressed the combined traumas of suffering both infidelity and marital rejection in succession. That’s when I decided to write a book chronicling my own journey to health, two decades later.
I found this a terrific book that weaves the author's personal story throughout her writing.
I appreciated her honesty regarding her own struggles and imperfect reactions to the loss of her marriage. She handily debunks some of the lies we believe about ourselves when we go through an unwanted divorce. I was inspired by the ways she relied on God without feeling she was over-spiritualizing her journey.
One of the most authentic authors I have read on this topic. I admired how transparent she was about her mistakes and successes in parenting her children through the process. Insightful and encouraging. Not your average nonfiction book on divorce.
If you are reeling from a divorce you never wanted, This Was Never the Plan is a lifeline. - Steve Grissom, Founder of DivorceCare
Divorce brings a storm of emotions: grief, anger, confusion and shame. Yet while the ache lingers, life goes on.
Vaneetha Risner has walked through this pain. In this hopeful and honest book, she draws from Scripture and her own story to offer compassionate wisdom on...
Finding emotional clarity and letting go of shame Trusting God in the uncertainties ahead Healing relationally, resisting bitterness and finding community Nurturing hope for the future
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
As a counselor and infidelity specialist for 33 years, I have had a passion for helping couples and individuals reconcile when possible or find healing for themselves in the aftermath of an affair. I never dreamed I’d go through this experience in my own marriage. Back then (1999–2001), few books addressed what I was going through. Most either focused on repairing a marriage after infidelity or general divorce recovery. Nothing addressed the combined traumas of suffering both infidelity and marital rejection in succession. That’s when I decided to write a book chronicling my own journey to health, two decades later.
I found this to be an excellent resource for wives whose husbands had an unexpected change of heart and left the marriage, seemingly out of the blue.
Often traced to a midlife crisis. I respect the fact that Vikki is a psychotherapist with 40 years’ experience who went through this kind of loss by a formerly loving spouse. I appreciated how she identifies “Wife Abandonment Syndrome” in her surveys and offers practical tools to support a person’s recovery.
While I read her book long after my own experience, I wish I’d found it earlier. Although I am a Christian and she admits being a Buddhist in practice and faith, I found her insights useful and non-offensive, and I've recommended her book to many clients over the years.
PLEASE SEE THE REVISED AND UPDATED 2023 EDITION OF THIS BOOK, WHICH HAS THREE NEW CHAPTERS. CLICK THE LINK ABOVE.
Based on a study of over 400 women worldwide, Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife's Guide to Recovery and Renewal, is the first book to explore and offer healing strategies to women whose lives have been turned upside down by Wife Abandonment Syndrome. Wife Abandonment Syndrome is a pattern of behavior on the part of a husband who leaves his wife out-of-the-blue from what she believed was a happy marriage. Following his sudden departure, he replaces the caring he'd typically shown…
As a counselor and infidelity specialist for 33 years, I have had a passion for helping couples and individuals reconcile when possible or find healing for themselves in the aftermath of an affair. I never dreamed I’d go through this experience in my own marriage. Back then (1999–2001), few books addressed what I was going through. Most either focused on repairing a marriage after infidelity or general divorce recovery. Nothing addressed the combined traumas of suffering both infidelity and marital rejection in succession. That’s when I decided to write a book chronicling my own journey to health, two decades later.
I first fell in love with Michelle’s work through her interviews, podcasts, and blogs.
I appreciate how she integrates Attachment Theory with her training in working with sex addicts and their partners. While she has much experience helping both partners, this book is meant for the betrayed partners. It will help you overcome the shame of being an injured spouse.
This book helped me find language for aspects of my feelings and trauma I didn’t find anywhere else. It contains a treasure trove of wisdom from a trained professional who was once married to a sex addict. I highly recommend it.
What happens when your partner, your primary person, in an instant, becomes a source of danger and pain?
The Betrayal Bind introduces new language, concepts, and imagery to explore the crucial relational dilemma that betrayed partners face when their significant other is unsafe to connect to, yet connection is the key to healing.
Discovering a partner’s sexual betrayal spins your world out of control. In a split second, your sense of safety is shattered, your trust is gone, and everything you thought you could count on is in question.
Betrayed partners, whether dealing with an isolated infidelity or a pattern…
Gifts from a Challenging Childhood
by
Jan Bergstrom,
Learn to understand and work with your childhood wounds. Do you feel like old wounds or trauma from your childhood keep showing up today? Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with what to do about it and where to start? If so, this book will help you travel down a path…
As a counselor and infidelity specialist for 33 years, I have had a passion for helping couples and individuals reconcile when possible or find healing for themselves in the aftermath of an affair. I never dreamed I’d go through this experience in my own marriage. Back then (1999–2001), few books addressed what I was going through. Most either focused on repairing a marriage after infidelity or general divorce recovery. Nothing addressed the combined traumas of suffering both infidelity and marital rejection in succession. That’s when I decided to write a book chronicling my own journey to health, two decades later.
As a Christian, I struggled over the stigma and guilt of going through a divorce. I worried that I somehow disappointed God.
Then I found Mark’s book, which offered a unique twist on how filing for divorce can sometimes be a “tough love” strategy to “wake up” a straying partner. Useful for believers who have co-dependent tendencies (like myself) or are in churches that encourage betrayed spouses to tolerate the intolerable.
This book offers a rationale that can empower a faithful spouse to draw a clear line in the sand: “Choose me or your wrong behavior – you can’t have both.” This concept increased my sense of self-respect. Mark is a seminary graduate and family mediator.
A graceful, biblical way to reclaim sanity for the home and dignity for the suffering spouse in a dysfunctional or dangerous marriage.
Thousands of conscientious believers wanting to honor the sacred vows they took before God suffer in dysfunctional, even dangerous marriages. Each and every day they must choose between the lesser of two evils: divorce without sound biblical support or a life of perpetual, unrelenting misery. Somewhere between the secular disregard for the commands of Christ and the sacred unwillingness to deal with real problems of people, there is a way.
The redemptive divorce process is designed to honor…
My first experience with divorce happened when I was still in diapers with the highly contentious separation of my parents, who were far too young to do it any differently. Mostly because there was no guidance for how to divorce well back in the 1950s. Shame, victimization, and unresolved rage were the atmosphere I grew up in. I’d like to say they eventually worked it out, yet it wasn’t until 60 years later that they could be in the same room and be civil. When my husband (now affectionately called my wasband) and I divorced, I’m beyond grateful that we decided it doesn’t have to be that way.
I just like Susan Elliot. She’s decent, smart, and deeply devoted to mental health. Particularly at a time when one is vulnerable to a lack of the latter!
I found Susan’s advice to be sound and helpful. When I was at my worst, the thoughts in my head would easily loop in self-destructive ways. By focusing on the questions Susan provides, I was able to stay the course to grow myself beyond the version of me that made the mistakes I’d made. Rather than getting stuck in PTSD, Susan’s book helped me to turn it all into post-traumatic growth.
A proven plan for overcoming the painful end of any romantic relationship, including divorce, with practical strategies for healing, getting your confidence back, and finding true love
It's over--and it really hurts. But as unbelievable as it may seem when you are in the throes of heartache, you can move past your breakup. Forget about trying to win your ex back. Forget about losing yourself and trying to make this person love you. Starting today, this breakup is the best time to change your life for the better, inside and out. Through her workshops and popular blog, Susan Elliott has…
When I had my twin boys 29 years ago, I started reading every parenting book I could. I was shocked at what I felt was really bad advice. It was permissive, indulgent, and lacked instilling virtues. It was then that I birthed the idea of writing parenting books with traditional Christian principles. Since then, I’ve spent the last 28 years learning all I could about raising well-behaved children. I also have done much research on the harmful effects of screen time on children. Other works include Rubric Rules: A Cleaning System for Kids and The Parenting with Focus Video Course.
This book is great for parents of babies and toddlers under the age of three. Dr. White contends that if you don't have your babies under control by the time they are 14 months old, you're headed for those terrible twos. Under control means: Do they lie still for you while being diapered? Do they hit and kick? Do they take no for an answer? He believes that basic obedience should be established by this young age.
In addition to training your child to obey, he also goes through the stages of development for children up to 36 months. He goes over things like how to react to a child’s intentional cry, sleep problems, and whining. I found this to be a very practical book.
REQUIRED READING FOR PARENTS WHO WANT TO GIVE THEIR CHILD THE BEST START IN LIFE Must your charming five-month-old turn into a tiny terror? Are the "terrible twos" and public tantrums inevitable? Burton White, author of the classic The First Three Years of Life, doesn't think so. Basing his recommendations on thirty-seven years of research and observation, White shows how to bring up an independent, socially secure, and delightful child. In his groundbreaking and easy-to-follow book, White takes parents through the normal development stages of their child's first thirty-six months, recommending the best ways to: React to a child's intentional…
Disappointed with life and his faltering relationship, forty-nine-year-old Stan is charmed when he meets a younger man named Asher—in his dreams. Asher grants Stan an irresistible gift: the chance to be five years younger every time they meet. As their connection deepens, Stan knows he can’t live in Asher’s dreamworld,…
I’ve known since I was 5 years old that my passion in life was helping people be all they came to this planet to be. I have been working with individuals, couples, businesses, and groups, and teaching courses for 54 years. Having had many years of my own psychotherapy, and 17 years into practicing traditional psychotherapy, I was not happy with the results, so I prayed for a teacher or a process that would really work. 38 years ago, I met Dr. Erika Chopich and we co-created the powerful Inner Bonding process, brought to us by our higher guidance, that rapidly heals on a very deep level, far beyond traditional psychotherapy.
My friend Katherine is a master at helping couples uncouple in kind and caring ways, filled with integrity. I recommend this book to all my clients who are ending their relationships, and many of my clients tell me how very helpful this book was to them. Breakups and divorces don’t have to be contentious, and even if just one of you reads this book, it will be incredibly helpful to you.
In 2014 a media storm erupted when Gwyneth Paltrow announced her separation from Chris Martin, describing it as a harmonious and mutual 'conscious uncoupling', and the term entered the world's vocabulary overnight.
Coined and created by relationship expert Katherine Woodward Thomas, Conscious Uncoupling is a paradigm-shifting guide for anyone suffering from heartache, whether you are in the midst of a breakup right now, still struggling with unresolved pain from a past breakup, or anticipating a possible breakup and wish to ensure it goes well.
Conscious Uncoupling’s transformational five step process provides an alternative path to the end of a relationship--one…
I was a passionate elementary school teacher for thirty-five years. Now retired, I am grateful that my writing allows me to continue communicating with children. I am always working to improve my craft, help other writers, and embrace my author life.When I am not in a critique group or at my computer I might be doing yoga or biking.
Lulu’s dad is a photojournalist who travels the world and brings her back treasures. Anyone who has a traveling parent will connect with this story. It’s a beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated book about a multi-racial family. It’s filled with heart and the love between a dad and daughter with the opportunity to learn some cool facts from the global cultures he brings back to her with his stories and trinkets. So lovely!
Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw's Papa Brings Me the World is a poignant picture book that celebrates the bond between parent and child, and follows their long-distance trip around the world.
Most parents drive a car or ride a bus or train to work—but not Lulu’s papa. He navigates mountains, deserts, and oceans, each time returning home with pockets full of treasures. There’s an ancient calculator from China, a musical mbira from Zimbabwe, and a special game from Sumatra. But the best treasures are special stories Papa tells when he comes home—tales of playing peekaboo with rare birds in the Andes and…
I'm a picture book author living in Los Angeles with my husband and two children. I love seeing the world through my children’s eyes and began writing stories for and inspired by them after they were born. Watching their relationships flourish with their grandparents and the grown-ups in their lives inspired me to write books that celebrate family and foster connection. My grandmas both live overseas and I treasure the time I spend with them. Just like my own children, the simplest moments together are the ones I hold onto and carry with me the most. I love books that celebrate these magical relationships and hope these books encourage readers to celebrate their own relationships.
It can be hard when our loved ones have to travel, but as Love, Mama shows, love stretches across distances when we can’t be right next to one another. Love, Mama features Kipling, a young penguin who is sad when his mother has to travel, he knows that she will come back but can’t help missing her. He tries to replace her with pillow Mama but it just isn’t the same. A heartwarming reminder of how strong a Mother’s love for her child is and the perfect gift for the traveling working mama this Mother’s Day.
When Mama leaves her young penguin, Kipling, he knows she'll return home soon - yet he still can't help but miss her. After all, Pillow Mama won't read, Picture Mama won't laugh, and Snow Mama is too cold to cuddle. But then Kipling receives a special delivery from Mama, including a note that reads: My love for you stretches across the wide ocean, through day and night, from earth to sky and back again. And Kipling knows that no matter where Mama is, he is loved. Soon, Mama comes home, and Kipling ends the day where he belongs - right…
The Parent's Guide to Birdnesting
by
Dr. Ann Gold Buscho,
Based on research about how divorce can affect children, you will learn how to best support your children's resilience, as well as your own. For parents who are separating and want to put their children first, birdnesting could be the interim or long-term shared parenting solution you’ve been looking for.…
As a child, I was one of Mister Rogers’ television neighbors. During Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he empowered children to name their feelings and act on them appropriately. Every show ended with his signature affirmation that each viewer was special. As an elementary teacher, I learned about “emotional intelligence” and “social and emotional learning”, terms that emerged in the fields of psychology and education in the 1990s. Fred Rogers was ahead of his time. I hope my stories follow Mister Rogers’ example: affirming big feelings, building self-esteem, and emphasizing positive relationships.
Woodson and Lewis weave a rich tapestry of lyrical text and lush watercolors to give readers a glimpse into the life of Ada Ruth, a girl growing up in the Midwest during World War II. Her mama has to leave home to find work. Ada Ruth and Grandma wait for word while caring for a stray kitten. This story overflows with longing, loneliness, empathy, worry, and, above all, love.
Ada Ruth's mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. It's war time, and women are needed to fill the men's jobs. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time. They find strength in each other, and a stray kitten even arrives one day to keep them company, but nothing can fill the hole Mama left. Every day they wait, watching for the letter that says Mama will be coming on home soon. Set during World War II, Coming On Home Soon has…
