Review: A very moving testimony of love and betrayal
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 25, 2012
Being deceived in a relationship only to find that the one you love is an abuser is a painful journey. This experience is documented in Love and Abuse on 40 Acres written by new author Wanda Maxey. In an effort to help other women in a similar situation and to prevent this from happening to another, Maxey tells how she experienced this type of relationship from a man she met on the Internet. She perceived he was a Christian and very loving, but after the ceremony things changed drastically. Maxey feared for her life and it affected the life of her grown children pushing them to try and rescue their mother from a situation that was getting worse.How does this happen? Maxey had a great marriage relationship with her husband, Dusty, who died from cancer. The loneliness and desperate yearning for things to be put back the way they were in having someone to love led her to make choices that were not safe. Although it was tough to learn these lessons, she is now able to share what God showed her from all that happened so that she can now teach other women what to look for as red flags in dating.Maxey's writing brings the reader into the fear, pain and chaos she experienced.  The reader feels like they are standing in the room as the circumstances occur. Her words of description touch the heart of the reader as they journey with her through the ups and downs of married life. When there is a problem that can't be owned by one, things will not change.A person who needs to recognize the signs of abuse should read Wanda's account. Abuse has affected too many women over the years with shame and fear holding them back from gaining freedom. This is a fight we all have to take part in to stop the abuse. Recognizing and speaking it will make it real to the people in the outside.There are many climatic times such as when Dusty dies in his wife's arms. Also when the fighting occurs with her second husband, Lanny, the fear of it escalating is felt.Maxey shows the reader how she discovered her freedom from abuse. It takes courage to listen to the truth and take action to be free.