On November 2, 2006, Gayle Haggard’s life changed forever. That was the day that her husband, Ted Haggard, founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the President of the NAE, confessed to her the truth. In Why I Stayed, Gayle walks us through the choices she made in her darkest hours. On the day and in the months ahead, everything in her life was at stake—what she believed, the husband she thought she knew, and the church community she had worked tirelessly to establish with her husband and friends in the basement of their home more than two decades ago. Out of this crucible in her life, Gayle has discovered a newfound passion for the central message of the Bible—the liberating message of forgiveness and love. Why I Stayed is a must-read. It paints a picture of what less-than-perfect people, across this nation and all over the world, desperately need—a community of family and faith that offers healing love and a path to restoration.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, "On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men."[i] The number one question most people on the outside looking in ask is, "Why do they stay?" What makes a man or a woman stay with someone who voices their love in one breathe yet destroys their partner's soul through physical, emotional, and psychological abuse in the very next? Jacqualine Boles never considered herself a victim of abuse while she was with her abusive partners. Things were always "just difficult", "not exactly what she had expected", "going to get better one day". These were the lies she told herself just to get through the day. When she finally accepted that things would no longer get better; she left her drug-addict husband for what she thought was a much better man. Her rebound relationship seemed like an excellent catch; he wasn't dabbling in drugs so that was an excellent start. Little did she know she had just stepped into drama that the best daytime soap operas would covet-multiple baby mamas, cheating spouses, noisy in-laws, small-town gossip and even murder! Why She Stayed is just that, a story of why one woman stayed in her awful relationships only to realize later that there was much more she could experience in a relationship.

Twenty-one women and men discuss what it is about Mormonism that keeps them part of the fold. Their deep, unique experiences make their individual travels even more compelling. Kimberly Applewhite Teitter, growing up in the South as a Black Latter-day Saint, often encountered well-meaning Latter-day Saints whose words messaged the idea that she was at some level an outsider or perhaps not as authentically Mormon as others in her congregation. Thus, she writes, "At the end of the day I'm still Black--still have felt the weight of proving that I represent the church I've fought so hard for my entire life." Yet the very episodes that could have driven her from the church became lessons on the meaning of discipleship.

If it can happen to her, a capable trial attorney, it can happen to anyone. MekishaJane Walker's ground-breaking and thought-provoking memoir has the potential tochange the way domestic violence is viewed...Mekisha's incorporation of photos, video, audio, and court documents makes you feel as if you were actually there. William T. Harmon, Former Criminal Court Judge, 34 years Mekisha Jane Walker takes you through her journey; a strong-willed successfulattorney by day and a domestic violence victim by night...This compelling page-turner is a powerful read that ...will raise awareness for this dirty secret that somany strong-willed women living with are afraid to talk about. Jane Waters, Former domestic violence prosecutor and division chief withthe Harris County DA's Office, 28 yearsAs a former prosecutor and current criminal trial attorney, Mekisha Jane Walker isa strong, smart, and resourceful woman...she hid her shameful secret of domesticabuse...she now tells her compelling survival story, which...intimately shows howany woman can experience horrible abuse, and yet overcome it. Jennifer Varela, MSW, LCSW, Special Victim's Bureau, Harris CountyDA's Office, 25 years

Bestselling Christian author, activist, and scholar Tony Campolo and his son Bart, an avowed Humanist, debate their spiritual differences and explore similarities involving faith, belief, and hope that they share. Over a Thanksgiving dinner, fifty-year-old Bart Campolo announced to his Evangelical pastor father, Tony Campolo, that after a lifetime immersed in the Christian faith, he no longer believed in God. The revelation shook the Campolo family dynamic and forced father and son to each reconsider his own personal journey of faith—dual spiritual investigations into theology, faith, and Humanism that eventually led Bart and Tony back to one another. In Why I Left, Why I Stayed, the Campolos reflect on their individual spiritual odysseys and how they evolved when their paths diverged. Tony, a renowned Christian teacher and pastor, recounts his experience, from the initial heartbreak of discovering Bart’s change in faith, to the subsequent healing he found in his own self-examination, to his embracing of his son’s point of view. Bart, an author and Humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California, considers his faith journey from Progressive Christianity to Humanism, revealing how it affected his outlook and transformed his relationship with his father. As Why I Left, Why I Stayed makes clear, a painful schism between father and son that could have divided them irreparably became instead an opening that offered each an invaluable look not only at what separated them, but more importantly, what they shared.

Every Reason to Leave is a personal and detailed story of one couple’s unbelieavable marital journey. After almost ten years of marriage, Vicki Rose found herself the single mother of two young children, separated from her husband, Bill, a part owner of the New York Yankees addicted to cocaine, women, and work. Both Jewish, Vicki and Bill each came to know Jesus Christ during their 5-year separation, and amazing reconciliation and renewal soon took place. You wouldn't believe what they're marriage looks like now. This story is an example of what God can do to restore a broken—and seemingly irreparable—marriage. If you’re in the black hole of marital despair, thinking about divorce, and wondering if it’s worth the effort to stay married, this book is for you.

One Saturday morning, Beverly Gooden is woken by her husband shoving her off the bed. She makes to flee, but he catches her, his sudden anger inexplicable. No words are exchanged. He begins to strangle her - as he has done many times before. With unflinching vulnerability, Gooden outlines in painstaking detail what she had to do to walk away from violence and control, and how others can use her experiences to escape their own abuse, from skimming the grocery money, to squirreling away personal belongings, to navigating a domestic violence shelter. She offers strategies for overcoming the barriers survivors often face, such as money, housing, overcritical social circles, or, most powerfully: love. Uniquely compassionate when it comes to the heartbreak of still loving one's abuser, Gooden shares how she transformed and extended this love outward, using her story to encourage others to choose themselves. The voice and fire behind #WhyIStayed, Bev Gooden is exceptionally positioned to explore the many reasons victims stay in abusive relationships, and how they can muster the resources and motivation to leave. Surviving is unlike any other memoir of survivorship, given its nuance, compassion, and candour. Above all, it is an exquisitely powerful testament to Gooden's healing, survivorship, and dedication to helping others do the same.