When He Leaves

by Kari West and Noelle Quinn

Book Overview

How can a woman cope...survive...and even thrive again after divorce? There are no easy answers. Kari West and Noelle Quinn offer their experience and companionship to the reader along a road she... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0736915869
• ISBN13: 9780736915861
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Even laughter!

This gem of a book was given to me by a (very thoughtful!) friend, when I was still in the blackest "depths of despair"... and what a book, and blessing, it has turned out to be!!! "When He Leaves" has been healing balm for heart and soul, and is captivating and well written, to boot. Once I opened that first page, I simply couldn't put it down, and stayed up till the (very) wee hours of the morning reading it... laughing, crying and healing my way through. To this day, when I'm most feeling the mighty struggle of this uphill climb, "When He Leaves" serves to add new oomph to my step, and energy to my stride. I've even been surprised and overjoyed by my own hearty laughter over the stories within...I simply can't say enough! If you've been through the pain of losing a husband... READ THIS BOOK, and revel in the comfort and hope hid amongst its pages. AND, if you know someone who's also hurting, I can't think of a more appropriate, truly helpful gift.I am VERY pleased to post a glowing review, and remain one very loyal, very grateful customer!

Thanks for Letting me know I am not alone

I stumbled upon this book, and decided to give it a try, since I felt like no one could understand the pain and anger I was feeling when my ex left when our son was 3 months old. Thanks Kari and Noelle for sharing your feelings, even the negative ones, which helped me stop blaming myself. I could not make him stay, once he decided to be with his new girlfriend, and this book helped me to heal, and to be aware of the strong woman and single mom I have become. By bringing my feelings of anger and disappointment into the open, I have been able to also see how far I have come, and how much God does provide. He sure does work in mysterious ways! God has provided comfort and strength and given me the courage to go on and live a honorable life, despite this little "bump" on my journey. Thank you, Thank you, for writing this book, and letting me know I am not alone or a failure. I plan to read it again for those times I feel discouraged or alone.

Treasures out of Dark Times

Would you think divorce is just as common within the Christian world as in the world at large? Neither Kari nor Noelle Quinn her co-author (both pen names of well-known Christian writers) ever imagined such a thing happening to their Christian marriages. But their husbands had hidden lives - adulteries that nuked their marriages. The authors and their children went through unwanted divorces. They met at a writer's conference and this book was born.Barbara Johnson of Spatula Ministries endorses When He Leaves. The cover promises to lead the reader toward choosing to live, love and laugh again. The book delivers. You follow their journeys from courtship to shipwreck - through shock, despair, regrouping, repairing and rebuilding their lives with God's help, a divorce support group and time. Anyone who has weathered a profound loss whether through death, disability or divorce will be touched by this book. Transparent about their inner lives, they offer kind tips in lighthearted style tempered compassion born of the fire of their testings. Wonderful sidebars include: the Prayer for Rage, Eight Promises I make to my Children, and wise words about verbal exploitation for women caught in the web of marriage to a controlling man. Women can be as guilty of this sin, which shoves God to the side and dictates to the soul of another. When He Leaves is written in a vivid lyrical style similar to Annie Dillard. The book should be recommended reading for every Christian. It will broaden your understanding of extreme loss, and help us show God's compassion to one another in the tough places in life. Thank you Kari West and Noelle Quinn for writing about being raised from the death of a marriage into new life. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the authors at a conference. She confided this honest book was published under the pen names in hopes there will be a redemptive time in her ex husband's life .......................

This is a must read for anyone left behind by a spouse.

Quinn and West wrote a gem. I loan or give my copies to pastors and women who are left by their husbands. My pastor read the book and recommends it.Several years ago I was in the same situation after my husband of twenty-four years left me for another. All the books I read were by professional men. Each had good advice, but none of the authors had lived with the feelings of absolute rejection, physical pain, and paralysis that this situation results in for a mate left behind when a long-term marriage ends. I needed to be understood; given real hope that I was still a person of value. In my case the leaving made sense only after discovery of the truth. Several years went by before my husband left for good. That is, he left physically, thus making official and true what many years of disrespect and unfaithfulness had hidden from my mind, but not from my heart. The authors relate similar blind areas. And I thought it was just me. I happen to be mostly recovered from my own situation, but I found Quinn and West's book helpful in retrospect. Finally, I had my own confused and dark feelings validated by other Christian women who had walked the same path and not only survived, but thrived. Not even professional counselors could empathize or give me hope on the same level that the authors did. The sense of shared experience and the hope for life after betrayal and abandonment shine light on the gray area in which a divorced Christian finds him/herself within the Christian community. God is faithful even when husbands, and even friends, are not. What I particularly liked was the balance between the true experiences they related, even down to gut-level feelings, and the striking lack of bitterness and anger that often lingers after divorce, even years later. Finally, two Christian women came forward and told others that the crazy-making experiences will end. We will be able to, as the subtitle reads, "Live, Love and Laugh again." Thank you ladies.

This book SAVED my SANITY!!!!

I can't say enough about this book. I stumbled across it and it truely was a godsend. The authors, Kari and Nicole, seem like good friends. I was in what I thought was a good, solid marriage--my friends envied how devoted my husband was--and in the space of a week, my life blew up! My husband of 12 years blew the mind of all our family when he left me 5 weeks after my son was born. His affair was a bomb that no one who knew him ever thought he would throw. This book doesn't blame but it also reminds you that When He Leaves, God will uphold you and that the shame lies with the one who broke the covenant, not you. It is written with humor and grace by two women who have stared hell in the face and triumphed. Reading it is like a booster shot of confidence. If you can only get 1 book on divorce, this is THE ONE!!