Sub-title: What every woman needs to know about unconditional love but is afraid to feel.

Paula White writes a candid and evocative story of her own life and the issues that she has faced growing up.

This book was an easy read, perhaps while I didn't identify strongly with any of the same atrocities.  It's not until the end that we hear about the success of her marriage, ministry and wealth, which is just as well as I was expecting this to turn me off any time throughout the book, although following that up on Wikipedia tells a slightly different story.

Two passages stood out for me, one on hypocrisy and another on seeing the best in your husband.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is defined as "pretending to be what one is not."  The New Testament meaning of hypocrisy and hypocrite reflects their use in Greek drama.  In the Greek theater, a hypocrite was one who wore a mask and played a part on the stage, imitating the speech, mannerisms, and conduct of the character protrayed.  Using that definition a hypocrite is simply "one who wears a mask and acts".

No wonder people say that they church is full of hypocrites.  We pretend that everything is great when we are hurting and broken.  And we sometimes do it because we are afraid not to pretend.

Husbands

Go back in your mind and remember what it was that made you fall in love with your man in the first place.  If there is only one quality you can find in him that you admire today, then focus on that quality.  Thank God for it.  Mention it over and over to yourself-and to him.  Stop telling him all the things you dislike; tell him what you do like about him.

We are in a season where DH is having to face up to the things he dislikes about himself, so a gentle reminder to me to dwell on the positives is fortuitous.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Unconditional Love, but Is Afraid to Feel at Amazon (includes preview)