If you have been through this kind of abuse you will have detonators and triggers you don´t expect while reading, but please don´t stop, it might be helpful to understand that that happens to other people, and they keep going, they heal, they understand is not their fault, and they teach others how to stay safe or find other places where they can find community and truth. I hope this kind of abuse is known more, less judged, and minimized, and that we can be more understanding and walk with those people who were hurt like this.

Told from the heart and with honesty this is the author’s story of years of domestic abuse she and her two sons suffered at the hands of her preacher husband. Unbelievable that perpetrators can get away with and continue behaviour like this. No one should be subjected to treatment like Michelle was and I was amazed she survived. Heartwarming to read she found a purpose and the love she deserved post divorce.
Although this was heart breaking to read it was also uplifting and I have nothing but admiration for Michelle. I think she is a brave person.
Religion is a huge part of Michelle’s life and needs to be included. I tended to skip those areas as it isn’t my thing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

As someone who has gone through narcissistic abuse, this book truly spoke to me and I felt like I was reading so much of my own story. The courage she exudes in her words is so incredibly powerful. An absolute must for all who have ever felt alone in their abuse. I truly was shaken to my core reading this book. Highly recommend.

This was really good. Great book showing abusive happenings happen in Christian marriages, even with a minister! Remember, how it’s an old saying that the devil comes to church too? Well, this is one way. If someone allows Satan to steer them in wrong ways or behaviors, it can happen. We must address these things that go on. No matter who it is, minister, deacon, or whomever, Acknowledge abuse. Help the victim to heal. Counsel both victim and abuser, so they both can heal. Great book, I thought. This book is definitely needed right now. ...Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read #HiddenBruisesinHolyPlaces and review with my honest thoughts.

This memoir shares a difficult story of a woman who finds herself in an abusive marriage with a husband who is a religious leader and manipulates his family and community through several forms of abuse. I did enjoy the story, especially the glimpses into what daily life must have looked like. I found that some parts of the story were a bit repetitive, yet not very detailed. The timeline of the story jumps around a lot, which could be seen as part of a victim’s work towards grappling with trauma, however, I felt that with this jumping around, several events were grouped together and explained in limited detail. As a result, there were only short windows of opportunity to truly visualize or comprehend the situations which took place. I would have liked there to be more descriptive language and more opportunities to dive into what was going on, though I know that for survivors it can be difficult to do that! All in all it was an interesting read and I commend the author for sharing an intimate tale of abuse in hopes that others in her situation may find hope and strength through her story. Thanks to NetGalley and Carpenter’s son/clovercroft publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

“Hidden bruises in Holy Places” details the author’s and her family's experience with domestic violence and her opinion on how to deal with it in a biblical faith based manner.
I personally feel that the sections that compiled the “memoir” section seemed disjointed and would have been better if told in a chronological fashion as opposed to individual sections on “spousal abuse” “child abuse” “sexual abuse” etc.

I do not agree with the author’s idea that someone experiencing abuse should leave it in god’s hands and “wait for a sign”. The advice section is quite frankly full of terrible advice. The advice given that you should only leave if they’re going to “destroy you” is wrong. How many women will read this and think “oh it’s not really that bad” and continue to stay in an unhappy abusive marriage? The idea that “You will leave when the abuse gets bad enough” is just ridiculous even under the guise of fundamental Christianity. If he abuses you or your children even once (physically, sexually, mentally or emotionally. Also animal abuse, abuse of power over people seen beneath him, etc), that’s the time to leave, and that’s the advice that should be given, not to wait it out for some sort of a sign that may never come. The author’s idea that she needs to take personal responsibility for being abused as if she is responsible for the actions of a severely mentally ill man is incorrect, so is her idea that the “ideal solution” should be to save the marriage. A lot of the advice given contradicts itself in different sections. I do not feel that the author, despite having personal experience, is qualified to be giving such advice.

No resources were provided on how to seek out domestic violence shelters, anonymous telephone help lines, or non-faith based counseling (not everything can be healed by faith and prayer).

As a chronological memoir only, the author’s story could have been inspiring and gave faith to those who need it during trying times. As a “self help book” the author really missed the mark.

Michele's courage to come forward with her and her family's story will save lives. It's a Christ-centered book on how some people can use the word of God for evil and to hide behind the text that would never defend abuse of a wife, kids, or family.

I really struggled with this book. I knew that this was the story of a preacher's wife who was being abused, and as a domestic violence victim advocate I was viewing this book as an opportunity to learn more about how people who are very strong in their faith have dealt with such a sensitive situation. While there was a lot of good advice in there, I feel like this book has the potential to alienate women who are either struggling with their relationship with God as a result of their experience, or have decided to cut off their relationship with God for some time as a result of their experience. I know she is just putting her experiences down, but the constant citing of bible verses made it seem (to me) like the author was minimizing or not realizing all of the hard work that SHE did. Sure, she leaned in to her faith heavily but SHE did all of the work. I was also very disappointed that there was not a list of resources at the back of the book. There is an entire section that speaks to a victim, and yet there were no resources if that person was not comfortable going to their church. There was also a lot of gender-specific wording that could be viewed as making it sound like women can't be perpetrators either. I admire Michele for all of her hard work on getting through this, and hope that she knows that in the situations where she was saying "I made a bad decision", she was doing what she needed to do to survive.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a opportunity to review this book. A sadly accurate memoir from a Ministers wife. Abuse is a unfortunate part of life for many people in positions of power in the Church. This is a historic problem that continues today. Hopefully books such as this will shine a brighter light on a problem that effects so many.

Book Review for Hidden Bruises in Holy Places
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