“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 copy!