A Fierce Love

by Shauna Shanks

A Fierce Love is Shauna Shanks’ true story of how she tried to keep her marriage together after her husband’s affair. She turned to God for help and was led to apply what she calls “The Love Filter” to her relationship with her husband. It was a difficult journey as she tried to live out I Corinthians 13, often known as the “love chapter of the Bible,” in the face of her husband’s attitude toward her on a daily basis, ranging from indifference to emotional cruelty.

Shauna found that she had to focus on her own relationship with God first and rely on God to work on her husband’s heart. She lays out in detail the struggle she went through and the pleasure she now takes in her new relationship with her husband.

The author makes it clear that God told her to stay with her husband, but she does not think that is a blanket response for every marriage. She does not criticize those who feel God is leading them in a different direction or that they have no other choice given their circumstances.

A Fierce Love is a frank discussion of one Christian’s response to infidelity. I found it difficult to read because of the emotional pain the author endured, but at the same time the style of writing makes you feel like you are sitting down with a friend over coffee. Her struggles become your struggles as you go through the journey with her. Also I should add that the Biblical principles she discovers about drawing near to God and trusting Him apply to all Christians who seek a closer walk with God.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Zondervon for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Christian, Nonfiction

Publication: June 27, 2017—Zondervon

Memorable Lines:

Craving love, I found it in God. Losing all trust in my husband, I found a better trust in God.

“By the grace of God, he has allowed me to experience this “hunger”—this need to depend on him, so that he could feed me with his supernatural food! So that I would know in my heart his goodness and his capability to provide for me.”

I came to understand that God had not wasted a single hardship I had gone through, nor a single tear I had cried. He was using each one for his good and was wringing them out, getting the most out of every drop. He wasn’t just “getting me through this.” He was truly making everything beautiful. He was working all things out for my own good.

Rating 3.5 stars

God can give us a taste of his own heart on the fierceness of His love for us in our complacency, our broken commitments, and our infidelity. Can we do the same for our spouse?

Shauna tells her story and experience as her husband confessed his infidelity and that he didn't feel anything for her. It is her story of fighting for her husband and family. She has taken a fierceness that can only be given by the Holy Spirit and total dependence on the Father. In Shauna's experience, she also learned something of her own faith. How weak it really is but the word says and God promises that in our weakness we can find strength in who He is.

Taking 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 known as the love chapter. She practiced this towards her husband. Before you think she was a door mat, she was not. She had boundaries and her boundaries were found in God's word.

With her husband's background in his own childhood and the walls he built, it spilled into his marriage. Shauna in grace, knew that this was a spiritual battle and not one of circumstances. She also spoke of trust and how to build trust. I loved this that trust is a investment and having to earn trust is like earning love. If you have to earn love, then is it love? Yes trust is important, but as broken people, we can easily break trust. Like I said before, healthy boundaries can keep your own heart and emotional well being guarded however, God loves us unconditionally. We have to ask his God's love enough when all else fails. That is what this experience tells.

Shauna also shares some of the music that helped her to build her faith and resolve. I have included a link to share. It is music that I also listen to and we sing at church. Very worshipful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7QCTXJB6MM

I had some concerns which I will not say, but some of her resources are questionable to me. I also am wary of the phrase "God Told me" when it is thrown out all the time....I do believe God speaks to us thru his word and his word speaks of His Glory to be known. The author was careful to point out that her experience may not be your experience but what it all comes down to is being in His presence which we are when in His word and prayer.

A Special Thank you to Zondervan and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

A Fierce Love is the story of a marriage that is brought back from the brink.
I have mixed feelings about the perceived 'root cause', so I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to others.

I loved this book!
Let me clarify. I hate that Shauna and Micah had to travel this road. I hate that anyone has to travel this road, whether it is the husband having an affair or the wife that has an affair. It isn't pleasant at all for anyone. If you are one of the few that know our story, then you know that we have been down this road and we have come out on the other side stronger than ever. Loving this book does not mean that I love what happened to them, it means that I love that they have shared their story with us. I love that they are still writing the rest of their story. No, I do not have any inside scoop about another book or a Hallmark movie (which was mentioned on the live chat), I mean that they are still doing life together. They are still in this love story. I love that Shauna listened to God, and applied the Love Filter to her life. I love this book!
A Fierce Love is a book of life, hope, heartache, and healing. Divorce happens, and it happens a lot. I'm not judging. I have friends, family and even my husband has been divorced. A preacher man that I am "friends" with on the Book of Faces pointed out that even God has been divorced. I'll leave the scripture right here so you can read it for yourself.
Jeremiah 3: 8
New International Version (NIV)
8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery.
I know that is a completely different blog post, but it is written right there in the Bible.
Back to the book, A Fierce Love. When we get married, we make a vow before God, family and friends, and lots of weddings are in churches. LOTS! We want God there when we are in the midst of all the wedded bliss, but when we are wronged we often forget to bring God into the situation. This book is a wonderful example of how we can go to God, listen to God, and obey God in what seems like the end of our world. Don't get me wrong, this happily ever ending won't happen for everyone, even with God being in the situation. But shouldn't we be willing to bring Him into more of our situations?
Oh I seem to be getting off track here, let me see if I can wrap it up with something about the actual book.
A Fierce Love is a book that I recommend to everyone! Men and women! I admire anyone that is willing to showcase a terrible time in their life to remind us that God is good. They are willing to share their story in hopes that someone will gain from it. I'm sure there will be haters out there, because anytime God is glorified the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. (Sorry!) Just shake it off! (I know, sorry! Couldn't help myself!)
Love this book! Go get it! Read it! Share it!

The true story of a woman manifesting agape love, endurance, and grit as she navigates the sprawling patchwork of a marital crisis. Written in an up-front and simple fashion, she successfully communicates the anguish, anger and trauma of a woman facing a possible end to her marriage and connection with her loved one. When her husband delivers shocking news, Shauna Shanks fires up a tear-filled, S.O.S prayer to God and then decides to do the unreasonable - she decides to take Him at his word. That 'word' (plural) being the love passage found in 1st Corinthians 13.
Un-mooring her logic, she holds steadfast to this passage, allowing it to renew her thinking and behavior. Throughout this hardship she develops a godly structure of forgiveness, love and hope - not only with her husband, but in her relationship with God. Her journey isn't a perfect one and she notes this in the form of setbacks that occurred when giving in to doubt and temptation. Shauna Shanks is both lover and fighter here in 'A Fierce Love' for a man she believes in and a loving, worthy God - She is a marvel of a woman.

Crazy stuff. This book could have been written by my husband about me. This is totally our story but written from the wife’s perspective.
It’s very interesting to read this and fee like I am in my husbands head and what he was going through while he fought to save me and my marriage. It has made me remember so much. At first it was a bit uncomfortable to read but then I turned it around to my life now and God reminding me that I need to be loving my husband like this.
Shauna references 1 Corinthians 13 a lot in this book. At first I dismissed her thoughts as this is such a familiar verse, it doesn’t do anything for me. How crazy. It’s the word of God, it can do anything.
So I read it and was brought to tears as I saw this as a reflection of the love I am supposed to have for my husband and I stink at it. I have been praying parts of this verse into my life and over my husband. I can’t remember it all so I chose to remember the things I really need to focus on right now, like love is patient and kind, it is not easily irritable or resentful.
If you have ever thought your marriage is over, or maybe you do think it is over, be inspired and challenged by this book and remember that God can restore.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.

A book of inspiration...hope...and love. Thank you for sharing this book w/ me. I have highly recommended it to my reading peers.

I read this book in one day - one day!! Not only is that an amazing feat for me (I am the kind of reader who dabbles - reading a chapter in Book A, a chapter in Book B, finishing Book C completely, taking a break from reading, picking up Book A again, etc., etc.. This 'dabbling' is especially true when it comes to quiet time books.) However, Shauna's incredible story of fierce love captivated me.

Shauna, if you ever read this, I just want you to know there is nothing more in the world I want to do than give you a huge hug. Your fierce love, gentle patience and brave courage that is detailed in A Fierce Love inspired me beyond words. While I am not yet married, this book awakened two very real things in me.

The first is how terrified I truly am of something like this happening to me. This is a fear I have shoved under the rug for a long time. Every little girl dreams of the picture-perfect wedding, Prince Charming, a beautiful marriage with the sunset ending. I certainly dream/ed of those things, but I was also the little girl who bit her nails as she worried about the other side of marriage, the side we don't talk about: the side where things go downhill, or in the case like Shauna's, completely off the rails. At times, this fear has been so overwhelming for me that I've thought about throwing off the idea of marriage altogether. For those of you who are like me and have had fears (or have fears) about their future marriages falling apart, let me encourage you: read this book! While I originally picked up this book without realizing it was a 'marriage book', it is perfect for anyone, whether you are in a committed relationship or not. It will encourage you, it will strengthen you and it will inspire you to love with a fierce love!!

The second is how I appreciated Shauna depicted her fierce love towards Micah after his proposed divorce and admitted adultery. Shauna is never prideful in her response, but she does make an effort to explain how fierce this love truly was. What I really appreciated about A Fierce Love is that Shauna doesn't celebrate being loud or standing up for yourself. Instead, she celebrates the quiet, gentle, serving love that I find within my heart. I believe there is definitely a time and place for standing strong and putting your foot down, but I appreciated Shauna's celebration of quiet bravery because I don't see that celebration very often in literature, and it resonated within me personally.

In short, I loved this book. And lastly, I want to thank you again, Shauna, for being brave enough to share your story and show us your heart. xx

Thank-you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book for my fair and honest review.

This awesome book is one of the most honest and authentic books I've read. Her struggle to save her marriage and keep loving her husband is an excellent example for God's power to change our hearts if we draw near Him and do what He says.
It also shows how God uses small things and other persons to encourage us, how he prepares us for everything we have to go through, how he works everything to our good, even if we don't see it.
Life isn't easy, but we're not alone. God cares and He loves us more than we can imagine.

I can't stop reading this book. A Fierce Love by Shauna Shanks is very different from other book about this subject. This book makes me cry and smile at the same time. It's not only about infidelity but about God's love, spiritual warfare, worship, grace, trust In God, learn how to listen to His voice, and much more. I can relate to so much of this book. Well worth a read! Please do not hesitate to buy this book.

Thank you so much Shauna Shanks for writing this book and I'm so glad I found it. Please write another book. I will definitely read it.

This book is a really honest account of a marriage in trouble and their struggle through it. It is from a Christian perspective and it really flows together well. I was very impressed with the wife's thoughts and feelings, along with the Bible verses to get her through.