Out of the Dust, my award-winning book with missionary Avis Goodhart, is featured today in this interview. I’m always honored to have an opportunity to share about Avis and her story on my friend’s beautiful blog, “Heart Talk with Linda Rooks.” Thanks, Linda!   For His glory,...

Today’s WRITE blog features an interview with Linda W. Rooks, author of Broken Heart on Hold: Surviving Separation which I reviewed in Tuesday’s post. Remember, if you’d like a change to win an autographed copy, please leave a comment on the book review. About the Author: Linda W. Rooks has a passion to help heal marriages, a passion that is fueled by the hope she and her husband found together when their own marriage was restored after a three-year separation. Since that time Linda has shifted much of her energy to bringing hope and understanding to couples experiencing crisis in their marriage. An almost native Californian, Linda received a B.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.  She met and married her husband, then a Navy officer, and moved to his home state of Florida to put him through law school.  Linda and her husband Marv, an attorney and assistant professor at Barry University School of Law, now live in Central Florida and have two married daughters and five young grandchildren. 1. For readers who haven’t yet met you, can you share a bit of your background? My love for writing goes back to my elementary school years, and I have been writing in one form or another ever since.  I majored in creative writing at San Francisco State University but didn’t start publishing on a national level until about 12 years ago.   In my personal life, my husband and I started our marriage deeply in love.  We had two lovely daughters, and thoroughly enjoyed our family life.  Unfortunately though, we were not good at resolving conflicts, and as a result too many unresolved issues began to eat away at the fabric of our relationship.   Things continued to deteriorate until 1995 when my husband left me.   We were separated for three long years.   In 1998 after each of us had looked into our own hearts and made some needed changes, we restored our marriage.  The strong marriage we have today is a testimony to what God can do with two hearts that are submitted to him. 2. During your own time of separation, what resources helped you the most? The Bible, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, What You Feel You Can Heal by John Gray, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray, Men in Midlife Crisis by Jim Conway. I also listened a lot to Christian music and Christian radio teachers like Chuck Swindoll and Charles Stanley. 3. How did you make the decision to turn your painful experiences into a book? When I was dealing with some kind of issue during our separation, I would often sit at my computer...

“I just don’t understand. Why would he walk out on everything we have? I feel as though I’ve been living a lie—a lie I still wish were true.” The young woman sat in my husband’s office, sobs wracking her swollen body. A few weeks away from delivering her third child, she now faced the pain of marital separation. Her husband said he didn’t love her—hadn’t loved her for a long time. And despite his vehement denials, she suspected he’d found someone else. Where would she go? What could she do? My husband and I counseled our young friend and her husband as best we could. We wished they weren’t the only members of our young adult Sunday School class to face this problem. We wished we had more resources for what’s become a growing concern for believers and non-believers alike: the problem of marital separation. Linda W. Rooks provides just such a resource in Broken Heart on Hold: Surviving Separation (David C. Cook, 2006). When you’re hurting, you don’t need pious platitudes or legalistic lectures. You want someone to listen. You want someone to understand. And you want someone to walk beside you on an always-painful, often-unwanted journey. The author combines a tender heart with skillful writing to transform a time of personal pain into a vehicle of healing. As she tells her story in fresh, honest language, she provides godly encouragement and practical advice for those who face similar anguish. Short, self-contained chapters allow readers who can’t devour an entire book to savor its truth a few pages at a time.  I loved (and hated) the author’s transparency as she described her journey. But what I loved more was the way she went beyond personal experience to encourage readers with Scripture, heartfelt prayers, and small suggestions sure to make a big difference. Although Linda’s story has a happy ending (she and her husband have reconciled and now help others who suffer similar marital pain), she writes from a humble, fresh, and open perspective that urges readers to seek God first. I’ll keep this resource on hand for the next sobbing wife or sullen husband who shows up at our door. May God continue to use Linda’s wisdom to guide readers through a season no one desires but many encounter.  If you’d like to win a copy of Broken Heart on Hold, please leave your comment below (make sure I have an email or other way to reach you) here. If your browser won’t allow you to comment, use the “contact” icon to the right to message me. Do one or the other by midnight EST this Thursday, January 27, and I’ll enter your name to win an autographed...