The Walk Out Woman

Book excerpt: Every woman longs to be appreciated, respected, and adored, but when her needs aren’t met within her marriage, she could be tempted to walk away. As little hurts and disappointments accumulate and her heart hardens, a woman’s loneliness and vulnerability take over, and she might find emotional fulfillment elsewhere, perhaps in even a casual encounter with another man. When the marriage enters this realm of real danger, the woman believes it will be less painful to walk away than try to work on it. With heart and wisdom, Dr. Steve Stephens and Alice Gray offer practical advice for how to stop this epidemic of walk-out women. They outline the warning signs of severe marital discontent and share how to reconnect with your spouse, communicate your hurt, and open your heart. If both partners are willing to work at it, any marriage can be saved. Are You Even Thinking About Walking Out? “I’m at the point where I don’t think it is worth the effort anymore.” “The only reason I’m staying is because of the children.” “Surely God doesn’t want me to be this unhappy.” Every woman longs to be appreciated, valued, and cared for. When these needs go unmet, she may be tempted to leave the husband she once loved—but walking out is seldom the path to happiness. Like trusted friends, Dr. Steve Stephens and Alice Gray offer wise and gentle advice to restore hope to your marriage. You’ll discover proven methods for how you can move toward each other rather than away, build up instead of tear down, and find love rather than lose it. Story Behind the Book Although a growing number of women are walking away from their marriages, there are no books to help them realize that this is not the path to happiness. A woman’s discontentment settles like dust on furniture, and although she tries, she fails to make her husband understand. His responses seem too little and too late. Many women mistakenly believe it is easier emotionally to leave the marriage than try to restore it. We want a woman to realize that even when her heart seems closed to her husband, there is a way to open it and become one again. Loss of love does not equal loss of marriage. Loss of hope does not mean the relationship should be abandoned.