Book giveaway: The Healing Choice (How to Move Beyond Betrayal) by Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen

Of all the books I’ve given away here at Paper Bridges, this is by far the most important because of the subject matter it deals with: pornography addiction and healing when a spouse is unfaithful.

From the back cover of The Healing Choice:

In the wake of betrayed intimacy, you may feel nauseated, angry, humiliated, desperate. Why am I not enough for him? Can our marriage be saved–and do I even want to try? Will this unbearable ache ever go away?

Amid the devastation that follows a spouse’s sexual disloyalty, you need to know that you are not alone. God walks alongside you, offering comfort and a promise to transform the pain of the present into hope for the future. In addition, there is a community of women who know firsthand the agony caused by a husband’s sexual compromises and who offer the compassion, strength, and biblical wisdom you need to make healthy decisions for yourself and your family.

The Healing Choice reveals the hope-filled stories of two such women, authors Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen, who draw on their own experiences and those of many others to offer step-by-step advice for rediscovering intimacy with God and finding the support you need to move toward genuine spiritual and emotional restoration.

Their down-to-earth insights light the path toward help and healing for every woman who longs to move beyond the pain of broken trust and experience God’s promise of hope.

And from Amazon.com:

“What an empowering, freeing book! In The Healing Choice, Brenda and Susan open their lives and share how our choice to be whole is not dependent on the actions or choices of our husbands. Healing can begin now! Your life is not on hold until your husband is free. Freedom is yours regardless of where your husband is in his journey. Brenda and Susan, thanks for reaching beyond your pain to pour life into others.”
–Lisa Bevere, speaker, cofounder of Messenger International, and author of Fight Like a Girl and Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry

“This book hits very close to home. Fred’s and Clay’s struggle with lust and pornography are very similar to mine. And just like Susan, my wife came to the realization that to heal from such a deception can only come from a deeper walk and intimacy with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brenda reminds all of us that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, and no matter what horrible circumstances we may end up facing, whether it be a drawn out tragic death of a dear loved one or a husband who has broken his marriage vows time and time again, Christ ultimately provides our hope of survival. Thank you, Brenda and Susan, for sharing your hearts with us so that we can see how the power of God truly transforms people here on earth.”
–Michael O’Brien, singer/songwriter/musician and former lead singer of Newsong

WaterBrook Press provided two copies of The Healing Choice for two of my readers. Please leave a comment below to enter. Contest open to everyone. Due to the subject matter of this book, if you do not want to comment publicly, send me an email at monicambrand (at) embarqmail.com, and I will enter you in the contest privately.

Contest closed next Wednesday, August 6.

Take off

This picture needs an explanation. The boys found a grapevine beetle yesterday. As I took this picture, the beetle began to fly away. If you look carefully at Peter’s open hand, you can see the wings beating fast. My camera caught Peter’s unaware expression that his new friend was about to abandon him. Not bad for a point and shoot, huh?

What I’m reading

I have three books next to the bedside at the moment, one fiction, one a how-to book and the third, a book of essays.

I’m almost ashamed to admit I’ve never read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Saw the movie version in high school, loved it, always wanted to read the novel. Life happened. Finally I’m reading it. When I’m finished, I want to pick up the memoir about Lee’s life.

From Clutter to Clarity by Nancy Twigg is a welcome blogging perk. Wave a free book in front of me and you bet I’ll take it. The subtitle is “simplifying life from the inside out.” Who doesn’t need to simplify? (Twigg also happens to be a home school mom. Go home schooling mama-writers!)

I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. A series of essays by a young New Yorker. A wonderful storyteller, is Crosley. Beware the naughty words.

Visit 5 Minutes for Books to discover what other mommybloggers are reading this month.