Comments on: Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal Reviews

By: Jed Diamond

Jed Diamond — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:13:56 +0000

Review by Jed Diamond for Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal
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Runaway Husbands is a wonderfully moving and informative book that will help thousands of women, as well as the men who have the courage to read it. It could, literally, save your life. I recommend it to wives, husbands and adult children, as well as the health-care professionals who work with them.

By: C. Strauss

C. Strauss — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:33:00 +0000

Review by C. Strauss for Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal
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Divorce is without doubt a crazy experience for many people.

But hardly anything hits you as bad as the out-of-the-blue rejection of what you thought is a good marriage. Not only do you feel your present is destroyed, you can not see a future and worst of all..your past is no longer what it seemed. Your life becomes a fog..your only coping strategy is breathing in, breathing out.

And then they are the people around you: “Ah well, divorce is bad. Happens to a lot of people, get over it”

This book puts it right. The author explains exactly how these women and men feel, how their life is destroyed, how they try to cope. Sometimes its very raw, at least to me because I have been there. The coping strategies are well thought out..I wish I had read the sentence: “Don’t press the send button while in pyjamas” earlier and they are so true. But maybe because it is a unique book, not one person explains what is happing..but hundreds, through one voice. And all the stories are eerie similar, the feelings are similar, the trauma is the same. And in the collection of personal coping strategies you might find one which is right for you.

If your partner walks out on you out of the blue..read it. It helps you understand that you are not alone and there are people out there who understand you perfectly. It helps you survive and nudges you gently on the road to recovery. You need to walk on your own but you know now you have walking buddies

If your best friends partner walked out on her and you feel helpless in understanding her..read it and then buy a copy for her.

If you think all divorces are the same..read it and then judge again

By: A. Royer

A. Royer — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:27:36 +0000

Review by A. Royer for Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal
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As a member of the author’s mailing list, I anticipated this book very eagerly. There is little material available on the subject. Ms. Stark does an effective job of addressing many of the issues that accompany the sudden departure of a husband.

I was disappointed, however, that most of the “abandonment” situations described in the book involved husbands coming to their wives and declaring: “I’m leaving,” and then subsequently having dealings with their wives re: divorce, children, etc. What about husbands who TRULY just “leave”? without even a conversation, or stop communicating, or providing emotional or financial support, or interacting in any meaningful way. The lack of closure that comes with a situation like this is unique, and as I’ve been living a situation like this for the past five years, I would have liked to see it get more attention in the book. How do you go on with your life when your husband’s on military assignment in another state, stops writing, calling, visiting– and you’ve never had a conversation about ending your marriage? I guess it depends on how “abandonment” is defined–mostly what “Runaway Husbands” discusses is “unexpected end of a marriage.”

By: Broken Hearted but Better off

Broken Hearted but Better off — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:38:34 +0000

Review by Broken Hearted but Better off for Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal
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Vikki Stark has an understanding of the subject of Runaway Husbands due to her own painful experience. A divorce under these circumstances is so different than other divorces in that the woman feels a total loss of control. My husband announced in “phases” that our marriage was over, first moving to the other side of the country for a job and then coming back for our summer vacation to announce that our 24 + year marriage “was over”. Vikki’s book and website have provided tremendous support and comfort to me. Her description of “amputation without anesthetic” was something I could completely relate to. Ms. Stark’s chapters on theories of why husband’s leave marriages in such a manner and the collateral damage it can cause in regard to the effect on children (of any age) were especially useful to me. I have also gained knowledge and understanding of ways to move forwards and to somehow experience a kind of growth from this trauma. I would recommend this book/website to any woman who’s husband has simply “run away”.

By: KC Beard

KC Beard — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:11:11 +0000

Review by KC Beard for Runaway Husbands: The Abandoned Wife’s Guide to Recovery and Renewal
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By the time I discovered Vikki Stark’s website ([...]) I was pretty well “recovered” from being the victim of Sudden Wife Abandonment Syndrome and the ugly, protracted divorce which followed. I ordered the book anyway — before it was off the press. Runaway Husbands is an amazing compilation of the true stories women across North America who have suffered the same gut-wrenching thing as I had: being told (out of the blue) “I don’t love you anymore and our marriage is over!” All of the stories were similar to what I had been through — and the volume of them is almost scary! Not only does Runaway Husbands reinforce the fact that it’s NOT about YOU, there is a distinct comfort in knowing just what makes these men suddenly walk away from long-term marriages — and what we should expect in the aftermath! Like many who have already reviewed this book, there is nothing like the shock of suddenly hearing “it’s over” from the person you built your life around. Had this book been available at the time of my Day of Devastation (August 2005) I could have saved myself months of anguish and thousands of dollars in therapist fees! Runaway Husbands is a lifesaver and a God-send to anyone who finds themselves in this situation.

Thank you, Vikki, for all your hard work!