Here are 100 books that This Was Never the Plan fans have personally recommended if you like
This Was Never the Plan.
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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.
This was the first “Oh My Gosh!” book that I read in the immediate aftermath of my unwanted divorce.
I couldn’t understand my extreme reactions to my husband’s affair and decision to end our marriage. I trembled all the time, suffered nightly nightmares, daily flashbacks, and found myself longing for the man who so profoundly injured me.
This book answered most of those questions. I have highlighted passages on nearly every page. The author is an abandonment grief specialist, and this book was pivotal in reducing my shame and my feeling so crazy.
Like Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's groundbreaking On Death and Dying, Susan Anderson's book clearly defines the five phases of a different kind of grieving--grieving over a lost relationship. An experienced professional who has specialized in helping people with loss, heartbreak, and abandonment for more than two decades, Susan Anderson gives this subject the serious attention it deserves. The Journey From Abandonment to Healing is designed to help all victims of emotional breakups--whether they are suffering from a recent loss, or a lingering wound from the past; whether they are caught up in patterns that sabotage their own relationships, or they're in…
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…
Pierce Taylor Hibbs (MAR, ThM Westminster Theological Seminary) has lived with an anxiety disorder for over fourteen years and offers a unique perspective on how anxiety and faith are interconnected. He is the award-winning Christian author of many books, including Struck Down but Not Destroyed: Living Faithfully with Anxiety. Other books he's written on anxiety include Still, Silent, and Strong: Meditations for the Anxious Heart and Finding Hope in Hard Things: A Positive Take on Suffering.
I constantly struggle with negative thoughts and anxieties and what-ifs. They trap me. And it’s ridiculously difficult to find a way out. JennieAllen seems to be a natural-born encourager, and she draws on her own faith crisis to teach us how to replace negative thoughts with God-given positive ones. She shows that approaching anxiety is often a matter of consistent mental work, and I can attest to that! Having a strategy in place goes a long way, and that’s what I found in this book.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! You can choose hope in the midst of chaos. The visionary behind the million-strong IF:Gathering challenges you to exercise your God-given power to shift negative thinking patterns and take back control of your thoughts and emotions.
“A must-have resource for anyone looking to get control of their thoughts.”—Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
CHRISTIAN BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN
Are your thoughts holding you captive? I’ll never be good enough. Other…
I’m an executive coach, personal branding consultant, and reputation management expert helping global executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders manage how they’re perceived and drive towards ideal opportunities. A long-time passionate supporter of the military, I volunteer to help veterans transitioning to civilian careers. My work with veterans comes from gratitude for their sacrifice. I regularly speak at military installations, podcasts, and events on veteran transition and hiring, teach in the TAP program at the US Air Force Academy, and serve on the Board of Directors at Project Sanctuary, which focuses on healing military families. Since 2012, I’ve also been a writer for Military.com.
I loved this book! It’s easy to get stuck on being busy with many tasks and responsibilities, and not move forward in our lives and careers.
This book helped me learn systems to become more efficient (in life and work), identify what was holding me back from being more empowered with my choices, and recognize when to say yes, and when to say no. Leaving the military – where “no” isn’t as much of an option, this is a good skill for veterans to embrace.
Do you feel like you're living busily but not abundantly? Are you struggling to find balance in life? Have you ever felt like you've reached your capacity and just need a break?
Bestselling author Alli Worthington dismantles common happiness myths and empowers you to rediscover your God-given purpose. In ten succinct chapters, Alli breaks apart the sources of our stress and tackles major topics like relationships, calling, traditions, and decisions. With her trademark candor, practicality, and uproarious true stories, she will help you:
Find your peace in a world of worry. Find your rhythm in a world that's constantly overwhelmed.…
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,…
When writing about the everyday challenges that women face within the workplace, I aim to express the events that occur before, during, and after the experience. Unpopular belief, life doesn’t go back to normal for most of us, as getting back to normal from any traumatic experience will leave you shielded. I found my voice through writing about my passion for enabling female empowerment. My path as a woman in leadership came from understanding the lack of consistent supportive resources, encouragement, and validation, amongst women in the workplace. Through my writing, I aim to creatively empower and encourage my readers to find their voice.
Valerie Burtons gives great guidance enabling and encouraging change through the simplest form of your thoughts. Understanding how you think can lead to your success, she outlines the discovery that encourages and enable empowerment within ourselves. Her holistic approach through positive thinking and transparent coaching enable the cultivation of positive perspectives for all of life’s lessons.
Popular author and professional certified coach Valorie Burton knows that successful women think differently. They make decisions differently. They set goals differently and bounce back from failure differently. Valorie is dedicated to help women create new thought processes that empower them to succeed in their relationships, finances, work, health, and spiritual life. With new, godly habits, women will discover how to:
focus on solutions, not problems choose courage over fear nurture intentional relationships take consistent action in the direction of their dreams build the muscle of self-control
In this powerful and practical guide, Valorie provides a woman with insight into…
I’ve had other Sisters in Christ, but it wasn’t until God introduced me to an amazing woman that I truly started to understand what it meant to be a Sister in Christ. A Sister in Christ is someone who encourages you, speaks the truth in love, and always points you back to God’s truths. She laughs with you, cries with you, and simply loves to do life with you. Sisters in Christ was born from this amazing friendship. To have this type of relationship is truly a blessing from God that needs to be shared in a community of fellow believers.
This book is amazing. I love how the author not only explains the reasons behind mentoring and the importance of mentoring and how God instructs older women in Titus 2 to mentor younger women, and older men to mentor younger men, but the reason behind mentoring.
This book reminded me a lot of Sisters in Christ especially how the author broke down Titus 2 as talked about above. I loved the stories and quotes shared by real mentoring relationships woven throughout the book. This made it more personal and also got me more excited.
I have been following this author’s blog for years and this book just felt like a giant hug from a friend.
Realize the value and blessings of participating in mentoring relationships during all stages, ages, and seasons of life.
Women often don't think they know enough to be a mentor, or fear rejection if they ask someone to mentor them. Others don't think they need mentoring. However, throughout the Bible, God calls spiritually younger and older women to learn from and teach one another.
Mentoring for All Seasons helps answer questions like these: - What is mentoring? - How do I find a mentor? - Why does God want us to mentor one another? - What are the blessings of mentoring?
I’ve been a reader since childhood and books have simply become a part of my life’s tapestry. They have comforted me in times of stress. They have provided me with ripples of joy. And simply kept me up almost all night. The books that I have recommended underscore the changing cultures of the human condition all centered around three universal themes, faith, mental illness, and family. When drafting my first novel I dived into simply capturing aspects of the human condition. As a mental health clinician I see the many tides of life and how the human condition has many times been couched within family dynamics.
This book is all about relationships. It is about a relationship with God and his people and that we are certainly more alike than different. Woman Evolve takes the reader through the story of Eve and shows the reader just how she is relatable to each and every one of us. Eve was human and we are human. She had flaws and we have flaws. Her vulnerabilities are also ours and before we point the blame at her, or anyone else for that matter we can look right back at ourselves and understand how each and every one of us doesn’t necessarily deserve redemption, but God gave it anyway. Want a good read, this book will keep you turning page after page as the reader and author explores just how fallible, alike, and loved we all are.
A New York Times bestseller! With life lessons she's learned and new insights from the story of Eve, Sarah Jakes Roberts shows you how past disappointments, struggles, and even mistakes can be used today to help you become the woman God intended.
Who would imagine being friends with Eve-the woman who's been held responsible for the fall of humanity (and cramps) for thousands of years? Certainly not Sarah Jakes Roberts. That is, not until Sarah discovered she is more like Eve than she cares to admit.
Everyone faces trials, and everyone will mess up. But failure should not be the…
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.…
I’ve always loved stories. I love diving in and immersing myself in the fictional lives of characters who will inevitably become to me like dear friends. Autobiographies are no different except that the events depicted—those harrowing, heartbreaking, jaw-dropping, stirring, and inspiring events—are true. As I read these personal stories, my understanding of the world expands. I grow to appreciate those whose life experiences and ways of thinking differ from my own, and, by their example, I’m encouraged to persevere until I’ve overcome the challenges in my own life.
I picked up a copy of this book at a time in my life when I was feeling less than, left out, and lonely. After experiencing the sting of multiple rejections, I had forgotten who I was—a person of incredible value.
But I was encouraged as I read Lysa TerKeurst’s story of being abandoned by her father, which resulted in a deep sense of rejection, and how she was able to heal by embracing her identity as a dearly loved child of God.
Lysa’s personal narrative was interwoven with practical advice in such a caring way that I felt like I was having coffee with a dear friend.
If you are struggling with your sense of belonging, I highly recommend this book.
Do you ever feel left out, lonely, or less than? Learn the secret of belonging, which will help you keep rejections in perspective and be better equipped to foster healthy connections in your relationships.
New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst shares her own deeply personal experiences of rejection from the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over to the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father. She leans in to honestly examine the roots of rejection, as well as rejection's ability to poison relationships from the inside out, including our relationship…
