Love and the Mystery of Betrayal - Sandra Lee Dennis *retail* [Nm]

What is it like to recover from betrayal of trust today in a culture that is blind to the trauma and impatient with grief? When her long-time partner left her shortly before their wedding, the author found nothing had prepared her for the depth and duration of the pain. Despite having lived through her husband’s death years earlier, she was stunned by the intensity of the suffering and could not understand why the shock hit so hard. Her loss of faith in this one person precipitated an existential and spiritual crisis that called her very understanding of human nature into question, and she wanted to know why.

As she wrested with what turned out to be a massive trauma, she began to keep careful notes of her inner life—to try to capture the paradoxes of love, grief and longing mixed with bewilderment and post-traumatic stress. With bracing frankness and fearlessness, she succeeds. Love and the Mystery of Betrayal seamlessly blends research and reflection, love and heartbreak, rage and transformation, and the personal with the collective. This achingly moving chronicle and meditation on the mysteries of love and betrayal shows how faith and love can triumph even after the most life-shattering revelations and loss. Most importantly, the deep, engaging writing provides the type of solace only a kindred spirit who has been there can.