Beyond Termination: A Spouse's Story of Pain and Healing
Myra Marshall with Dan McGee, Ph.D. and Jennifer Bryon Owen
Broadman Press, 1990
Myra Marshall with help from her husband and children shares her personal story. The book also includes stories of others who have survived forced terminations, and observations by her brother, a former pastor and medical psychotherapist, of her experiences of forced termination and the healing process which followed.
In this framework of multiple perspectives, her vulnerability and her honesty hold out hope for others who are experiencing similar terminations. The book also speaks of churches which seek to avoid or heal from the wounds of such trauma.
She states her purpose clearly, "We are seeking to help both churches and ministers understand the effects of termination on the minister and his or her family," (p. 23). Mrs. Marshall has not shrunk from revealing the depths of pain nor the triumphs of growth through suffering.
I highly recommend this as an honest and thorough examination of forced termination. You may weep and you may get angry. Both are appropriate reactions. The illumination provided by this wise book is a gift for all who are struggling with the phenomenon of forced termination.
Reviewed by Nancy E. Waldo, MTM Intern