From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts: Seeking God After Divorce Through Community, Scripture, and Journaling

by Rebecca L. Mitchell

Divorce can be a sensitive topic for Christians. After all, a husband and wife are supposed to be "one flesh." Yet even in the church, divorce rates continue to be substantial. And women are desperate for biblically based guidance, encouragement, and hope--not to sweep their pain under the rug and pretend broken vows don't exist but to know that complete healing is possible.

Rebecca Mitchell knows this because she has experienced divorce firsthand. Her marriage crumbled after twenty-five years, and she went through every stage of grief. But one day she realized she needed to stop being trapped by the past and move forward. She refused to accept the role of victim. Her journey to healing and her experience leading a support group in her home church led to a conviction that others could be helped in the same way: through engaged community, biblical self-care, and compassionate reflective practices.

This unique book covers topics such as depression, loneliness, forgiveness, hope, and even joy. Each of the twelve chapters includes five days of devotionals and journaling questions. From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts leads readers through the process of realizing that brokenness is a stage, not an identity. Mitchell encourages women to maintain hope for healing, to be patient with the time recovery takes, to be committed to community, and, above all, to seek God.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2018

About the author

Rebecca teaches Writing at UC Davis and sharpens her own writing with her beloved critique group, Friends with Pens. With a passion to come alongside women on their healing journeys, she has written her first book From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts: Seeking God After Divorce Through Community, Scripture and Journaling. She also co-leads a local chapter of DivorceCare, instilling hope for a fulfilling and joyful life after divorce. Rebecca lives in Sacramento, California and enjoys reading, nature walks, meals with friends, and spending time with her two wonderful daughters. Her latest adventure involves--after nine years of single life--marrying a man with 12 children! She hopes that one day they will write a book together.

Reviews

[Randy Brundage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not the target audience (I am widowed, not divorced) and yet this book has been such a blessing for me! Rebecca shares from deep within the experience, I can tell that she has been there. It's like I was experiencing the issue alongside her. Rebecca is genuine and real. I especially appreciated the metaphors that allowed me to relate the message to real life. The letters from GOD were like THE LORD was really speaking to me and loving me. Rebecca's book has already helped me through times of need and I will hold on to it as a timeless resource.

Everyone I've met who has read the book has been blessed. I hope the word gets out about this book and am looking forward to more books from this lady.

[Joel Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divorce is a journey (an often most unwanted journey) and healing from such a tumultuous event is a process. It cannot be hurried, it cannot be avoided (for your own mental and emotional health), and it doesn’t look the same for every person.

“From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts” is a guide to seeking God after divorce. Written by Rebecca Mitchell, it’s crammed full of compassion, understanding, rawness, and the voice of a friend who has been there and “gets it.”

I was able to do an interview with Mitchell, a local author who wrote this book as part of her own recovery process. She was kind enough to sit with my wife and me over coffee and share her personal journey to finding her own healing after her divorce. Books make an even deeper impression when you’ve met face to face and heard the story of the author. Like many, Mitchell knows the pain and challenges of a failed marriage. Fueled by her own experiences and hurts (but also ultimate victory), she does a great job helping others to create a cohesive narrative of their own story while finding a new identity – one outside of who they once were to who they are now.

Mitchell’s book “From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts” is more a process than an event, in that it’s not just information, but a chance to progress through the steps and stages of healing. It’s formatted to cover a twelve week period with five days per week to cover each chapter. Each day includes scripture reading, open insight from Mitchell, prayer, and questions to reflect on or journal on. The chapters are also broken into three parts: The Initial Devastation, The Struggle to Face Our New Reality, and The Promise of Restoration and Healing.

Please hear me: Just because this book is broken into twelve weeks, doesn’t mean you have to move that quickly through it – a healing process is not complete in just three months and that is an unrealistic (and unhealthy) expectation to place on yourself. But, these twelve chapters do meet you where you are, and give you tools and insight for working through the grief and healing process that surely follows any divorce. Take them at your own pace, or read through and go back to each section as you’re there in your own journey. This book is a tool, a resource, and a guide. Use it as such.

Honest and relatable, Mitchell gives hope that you too can move from the brokenness you may be experiencing right now. This season of grief is just a season and it’s not your long term identity. You can embrace the emotions you're feeling right now but also learn to eventually reclaim your joy. Mitchell leaves no stone unturned in this healing process.

Whether you’re newly divorced or you never really dealt with it when you were, this book is easy to follow along with and great for both individual use and group programs like Divorce Care. While it’s written from a woman’s perspective, it could just as easily be used for men (trust me on that fellas, I’m a man too). You don’t have to stay where you are. You can move from Broken Vows to Healed Hearts.

[Jessica Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I committed to going through this book as part of my healing process. It's set up to read daily, five days per week and includes scripture, a short encouragement or personal anecdote from the author, and several questions each day. I purchased this book on the recommendation of my church, hoping it would be much more reading and many fewer prompts and questions than it was. This made it time consuming and mentally / sometimes emotionally challenging to get through thoroughly. In addition, there was many days that I did not relate to the author's personal challenges / insecurities (we are in very different stages of life) which she described in her anecdotes. Finally, some of the readings and questions seemed very vague and not super well put-together. So all-in-all I didn't particularly LIKE going through this book.

HOWEVER, there were some days that were so good. A couple made me cry, a couple inspired me to take pages of notes and really process through some things that I had not fully dealt with until that point. I also do think this would be a good book to go through as part of a small group. So I would still say it is worth reading if you are going to take the personal reflection / discussion parts seriously and use them to process your own journey.

[Csimplot Simplot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!

[Deb Gruelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Broken Vows to Healed Hearts is a perfect book for women needing hope after divorce. In it, Mitchell points the way toward healing by sharing God's tenderness toward those who are grieving broken marriages. Her insights invite women to the identity that God gives them as His Beloved.

My favorite parts are the love letters from God at the beginnings of each chapter, the honest stories the author shares, and the beautiful metaphors that give readers a new perspective.

Highly recommended.