Introduction

From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all.

When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.

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Excerpt

Prologue
He always said if I left he would kill me, but there are far worse fates than death. Guess I hadn’t really known that until I met and married Trent Taylor. I didn’t mind the cuts and bruises half as much as the insults and accusations. Whoever said “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” has never been on the other end of a tongue that really knows how to cut. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Penny gets angry and defensive when her friends try to confront her with the truth about Trent’s behavior. Have you ever reacted that way when someone tries to tell you something you don’t want to hear? How can we learn to be open to friends who try to “speak the truth in love” to us?
2. Trent repeatedly says—and occasionally shows—that he wants to change. Was Penny right to believe him? Did you believe him? What more could he have done if he was sincere about wanting to become a different (healthier) person? What do you think the future holds for Trent?
3. Callie Mae, a loving and godly woman, struggles with the habit of smoking. And she accuses the woman who confronts her about it of gluttony. What are some other habits or lifestyle choices we sometimes develop that are bad for our health—and may compromise our ability to reflect Christ to others? What are some ways we might work on overcoming them?
4. There are a few times when Penny actually seems to want Trent to hurt her. “I think I wanted him to beat me then. Feeling the physical pain was so much better than the anguish eating me up inside” (ch. 20). And “I realized then I was trying to provoke him, but I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because deep down I thought I deserved to be beaten. Maybe I enjoyed being the martyr. Or I was just addicted to the making up that was sure to follow” (ch. 35). What could make a woman feel that way? What are some ways she could get help for whatever it is that’s causing those feelings? What are some other self-destructive patterns you see in your life or the life of someone you love?
5. Fatimah and Callie both tell Penny that if she wants things to change, she herself must change. Do you agree with that statement? Why is making changes in our own lives and behavior often so difficult? What holds you back from making a positive change in your circumstances?
6. Callie Mae tells Penny, “You’re addicted to an abusive man.” Do you agree with Callie’s assessment? Why or why not? What are some other things—besides alcohol or drugs—that a person can develop an unhealthy dependence on? What does it take to break the cycle?
7. For a long time, Penny says she doesn’t want to leave Trent because being with him is better than being alone. Why are familiar, though unpleasant, circumstances often more attractive than the unfamiliar and the unknown? What relationships or circumstances are you clinging to, just because they’re familiar, when you might be better off without them?
8. Callie Mae helps Penny reframe her situation by asking, “If you had a daughter, and she came to you and told you her husband was treating her the way Trent is treating you, would your advice be to stay with him?” (ch. 23). Why is it sometimes easier to see what’s going on in a situation involving someone else than in our own situation? What’s going on in your life right now that might benefit from some reframing? Who has God placed in your life who can help you do that?
9. Pastor Harold asks Penny, “Why isn’t grace enough?” and Penny herself wonders why it isn’t. How would you answer that question for Penny? Is God’s grace alone sufficient for all life’s challenges, or does God’s grace sometimes require a response or action from us? And if it does sometimes require a response, how can we tell if a given situation is one of those times?
10. Callie tells Penny that God will not manipulate someone into doing something the person doesn’t want to do, even if other people are begging for his intervention. Have you ever pleaded with God to change a loved one? What was the outcome? Why do you think God allows people to have free will even when it means other people might get hurt?
11. With the support of a friend and her pastor, Penny stages an intervention with Trent. Do you think that was a good idea? Why or why not? What might Penny have done differently that could have led to a better outcome? Have you ever tried to confront a loved one about a serious problem in this way? How did—or would—you go about it?

Weblinks

»	Gina Holmes' web site
»	Publisher's Book Info

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