Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion

by Joan Phillips and Sydna Masse

Book Overview

What do millions of American women have in common? They've experienced abortion.

You might be one of these women. Or maybe it's your friend, sister, coworker, or the woman sitting next to you at church. Regardless, post-abortive women are in pain, and at some point, most will experience Abortion Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Abortion PTSD). But they may never talk about it. Many are silent because they are filled with shame, grief,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1434768724
• ISBN13: 9781434768728
• Release Date: January 2024
• Publisher: David C Cook
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

It is possible to get past the pain

This book was the first book I read about women suffering with past abortions. I suffered in silence for over 20 years and after the birth of my son, my suffering became even more intense as I went through all his "firsts" and came face to face with my loss. When I finally had the courage to tell someone my "secret" I was told about this book. It was the first step to healing. Two years ago I attended a post abortion healing group which has helped tremendously. There are so many women suffering from past abortions. If you are suffering in silence there are many resources for you to help you get the courage to find healing.

Salve from God for a deep wound

I read this book several years after going through the Bible study entitled "Forgiven and Set Free" by Linda Cochrane. Its contents reflect the content of the Bible study closely, with personal testimonies from the authors interwoven through the chapters. I counsel women who are struggling with the emotional aftermath of abortion, and I reccommend they read it before beginning the aforementioned Bible study with me. I suppose that neither this book, nor the Bible study, would be extremely helpful if a woman does not consider herself a Christian, since they both address the issue from a Christian, biblical perspective. But it is possible, I suppose, to find some measure of comfort in the knowledge that there are others who understand and share your painful experiences. Our grief, guilt, regret, and shame can be common denominators regardless of our faith or lack therof. Therefore, I highly recommend this book for any woman who is struggling with her feelings connected to a past abortion.

Wholeness

As a twice post-abortive woman, this book was an amazing help to me. Before reading it, I'd felt as though God had done much healing in my heart about my two babies...but I found out He wasn't finished with me yet! Now I believe all the corners of my abortion experiences are swept clean and I know I will be reunited with my daughter and son for eternity, because of the forgiveness possible in Jesus Christ. I wholeheartedly recomend this book!

I needed help

I cannot express how much help I have needed since my abortion that happend two and a half years ago. I still have not completely healed and probably never will, it is something I have to live with forever. I read this book and it gave me assurance of Gods love and forgiveness that helps me get through each day I live. I don't go one day without loving my unborn child. It wasn't my choice, but I was pursuaded by my boyfriend who didn't stay around.

A masterpiece for post-abortive women.

The hot topic these days for those interested in the abortion debate is "post-abortion healing." And for good reason. According to Planned Parenthood's research department some 43 percent of women will have had an abortion by the time they reach 45 years of age. And who better to help women find hope and healing than two who have experienced the tragedy of abortion themselves.Synda Masse and Joan Phillips, the authors of Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion, are leading the charge to provide women with spiritual renewal following abortion. Their recently-published book is an excellent guide for women seeking to accept forgiveness and reconcile with God.Masse and Phillips have written Her Choice to Heal in a workbook style that combines helpful advice and choice Biblical passages with writing spaces where a woman can reflect on her own abortion situation and what she's read.Speaking about women beginning to come to grips with their abortion, they write, "For months and even years, the only apparent truth is that she made the right decision for that time in her life." Yet women eventually find themselves with overwhelming feelings of denial, anger and tremendous guilt. Her Choice to Heal addresses each of these feelings in various chapters.Masse and Phillips are intimately familiar with abortion decisions. Both are former leaders of the Crisis Pregnancy outreach of Focus on the Family and have previously suffered from abortion's lasting effects.Despite attending a "private Christian college," Sydna Masse found herself pregnant. She faced a dilemma that seems to typify the desperate situation young women find themselves in -- one that compels them to feel they have no other choice besides abortion.Her boyfriend threatened to "turn my whole world upside down" if she chose to carry the pregnancy to term. He threatened to divulge her pregnancy and refuse any support for her and her child, to reveal the pregnancy to her mother (who would likely not support her), and to get Sydna kicked out of school. "You'll be on your own! It doesn't look like you have much choice." Sydna chose abortion and began "drowning my feelings with drugs and promiscuity" -- a lifestyle she would unfortunately "continue for many years."Joan Phillips' story shocks even readers most familiar with tragic abortion experiences. Following a high school romance that turned into a domestic abuse nightmare, Joan made an appointment for an abortion after gathering her two sons and leaving her husband. But no one heard the "silent screams" she cried during the abortion.Phillips soon begins a sordid affair with a married man. This produced two abortions but millions of heartaches. By day she became a "supermom" to her kids; by night she'd "smoked pot until I couldn't see, cry for no reason until the tears were gone, and wonder what was wrong with me."This book is not just for those who have a personal abortion exper