Helen Keller once said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”

T. Pearl Joynz was the victim of a marital affair. Naturally, she was crushed by what her husband had done to her family. In The Shattering: Book one of the life after adultery memoir, Joynz shares her experiences of pain and suffering, but also shows how relying on God gave her strength, hope, and renewal. Joynz wanted to tell her story in order to help other women heal from betrayal by turning to God.

The book reads like a personal journal. Joynz does not gloss over her pain, and she gives a step-by-step view of her feelings toward her husband, herself, and the other woman. Each of Joynz’ chapters compares a victimized wife to the other woman; for example, the theme of Chapter 20 is “She is Drought/Famine…You Are Sustainment”; besides contrasting the wife to the other woman, she reminds readers that God sustains them through times of trouble.

The author does not hide the havoc that her husband caused through this affair, and the story shows that even though trust can be rebuilt, a post-affair relationship will never be quite the same as before. One of the most memorable parts of the book is when Joynz recalls a conversation she had with her husband after the affair. She explains to him that she, too, has a scarlet letter: people will now think she is weak and foolish for forgiving her husband and not divorcing him.

The Shattering does have a happily-ever ending, but not the typical kind found in a romance novel. Joynz finds hope, healing, acceptance, and love – not in any person, but in God. She finds that even in the darkest of times, God will be there with her. Many readers of this book may have never experienced the betrayal of infidelity, but everyone can understand the feeling of suffering. This book shows that the world is full of suffering, but that God can help us overcome it.

You can find The Shattering here.