This book read more like a college dissertation than it did on her story of finding hope. She did weave her story into the book but it was all really disjointed. I also couldn't determine which side of the issue she was on at times. I have not been in this situation but many women have. I'm not clear what message of hope she had for other women going through this.

This is a touchy subject, spousal abuse by a Pastor! The author uses her own experiences to show how spousal abuse can happen in pastor's families, she tells us how her husband used his position as a pastor and his knowledge of the Bible to abuse her verbally and physically.
There were some warning signs before she and her husband got married : the husband had been expelled from 2 colleges - at Wheaton College for stealing and breaking into a faculty office to obtain answers for a test, at Miami College for behavior that was not clearly explained, and also for being a Peeping Tom near his parents' house in Long Island. The couple ironically got married at Wheaton Chapel.
The author gives us examples of good and bad husband's and wives in the Bible as examples of good and bad marriages.
The author's husband even attacked their son when he tried to defend his mother.
You will have to read this book for yourself to learn about the many case studies the author discusses that contain proof of spousal abuse and how the courts ruled on their cases. You will also find out what happened to the author and her husband.
The concept of male headship is discussed at length, and rightly so, it has been used too much to put women in their place and let men think that they are superior to women

This is a book that you must read, but you probably won't want to. Not because it is poorly written, but because it will take you places that you don't want to go. But make no mistake...especially if you are a man, you really do need to read this book. Ruth lays bare the emotional trauma that she went through...and the reason that it is so important to read this book is because she isn't alone. She isn't alone, but while many endure silently (as she did for so many years) she has given them a voice by sharing her own experience. It is a hard read at times...but a very important one.

I thought that this would read more like a memoir than a book on men/women equality. It's not that I disagree with the author's premise, it just was not what I thought it was going to be. It did not hold my attention and I only made it half-way through the book.