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When Your Adult Child Strays: Trading Heartache for Hope
No matter what comes between you and your adult child, you can still foster a strong relationship.
Parents are often stunned when their children reach adulthood and disregard the values, practices, and faith commitments they were raised with. Whether these differences are over church, politics, sexuality and gender, addiction, or another issue, parents struggle to know what went wrong.
But there's good In the midst of uncertainty, you can trade heartache for hope.
In When Your Adult Child Strays, author, speaker, and podcaster Jim Burns gives practical advice on key areas of conflict and offers guidance on how to foster a strong relationship with your adult child. As a trusted expert on family, parenting, and marriage, Jim will help
Rebuild trust with an adult child who has rejected your traditions Lower your emotional reactivity in heated conversations Learn how to validate your adult child's feelings without trying to be right Move from advice giver to mentor Understand the differences between Nomads, Prodigals, and Exiles Avoid being defined by your adult child's choices Maintaining a healthy relationship with your adult child is hard. But with God's help, hope and healing are within reach.
Parents are often stunned when their children reach adulthood and disregard the values, practices, and faith commitments they were raised with. Whether these differences are over church, politics, sexuality and gender, addiction, or another issue, parents struggle to know what went wrong.
But there's good In the midst of uncertainty, you can trade heartache for hope.
In When Your Adult Child Strays, author, speaker, and podcaster Jim Burns gives practical advice on key areas of conflict and offers guidance on how to foster a strong relationship with your adult child. As a trusted expert on family, parenting, and marriage, Jim will help
Rebuild trust with an adult child who has rejected your traditions Lower your emotional reactivity in heated conversations Learn how to validate your adult child's feelings without trying to be right Move from advice giver to mentor Understand the differences between Nomads, Prodigals, and Exiles Avoid being defined by your adult child's choices Maintaining a healthy relationship with your adult child is hard. But with God's help, hope and healing are within reach.
- GenresParenting
192 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2026
About the author
Jim Burns
266 books68 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Jim Burns, Ph.D., President of HomeWord is the host of the HomeWord with Jim Burns daily half-hour, daily one-minute, and weekly half-hour radio programs. His passion is communicating to adults and young people practical truths to help them live out their Christian lives.
Jim is the author of many resources including his latest books The Purity Code: God’s Plan for Sex and Your Body, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less: God’s Best for Your Body, Mind and Heart. In recent years, he has also written Confident Parenting and Creating an Intimate Marriage which are available in audio CDs, books, and small group curriculum kits; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; Devotions on the Run; and Parenting Teenagers for Positive Results kit. Since 1985, HomeWord has been assisting parents and churches worldwide through radio, resources, seminars, and the web at www.homeword.com. Jim writes monthly columns for Ignite Your Faith magazine and Simply Youth Ministry newsletter and website.
Jim Burns, Ph.D., President of HomeWord is the host of the HomeWord with Jim Burns daily half-hour, daily one-minute, and weekly half-hour radio programs. His passion is communicating to adults and young people practical truths to help them live out their Christian lives.
Jim is the author of many resources including his latest books The Purity Code: God’s Plan for Sex and Your Body, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less: God’s Best for Your Body, Mind and Heart. In recent years, he has also written Confident Parenting and Creating an Intimate Marriage which are available in audio CDs, books, and small group curriculum kits; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; Devotions on the Run; and Parenting Teenagers for Positive Results kit. Since 1985, HomeWord has been assisting parents and churches worldwide through radio, resources, seminars, and the web at www.homeword.com. Jim writes monthly columns for Ignite Your Faith magazine and Simply Youth Ministry newsletter and website.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 11, 2026
Love this book I audiobook it. I love his advice! So important that we show our children love and they make relationship more important than choices. To allow our kids to grow stretch their wings and decide who they are. And allow the Lord to lead them in their way and in their testimony. I feel Jim absolutely speaks to this way of thinking and helps you gain perspective on why it’s important. Hundred percent recommend this book. I was not fond of the narrator. I would’ve preferred Jim reading it. But I still glad I listened to it.
Review of advance copy
Here, I'll save you the time it would take to read this book:
If you're a fundamental Christian and your adult child strays, congratulations! Your adult child successfully escaped a cult!
If you're a fundamental Christian and your adult child strays, congratulations! Your adult child successfully escaped a cult!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews