If you believe everything you hear on the news, marriage is on the decline, divorce is on the rise and relationships are considered disposable commodities on the same level as paper plates and plastic spoons. But even when affection grows cold, cutting the tie that binds can be an excruciating experience. Popular pastor, speaker and best-selling author T.D. Jakes mines the emotions of a couple on the cusp of divorce in his latest contemporary novel, Not Easily Broken. Dave and Clarice Johnson make an attractive, intelligent, upwardly mobile couple, both successful in their own realms. Yet something is missing from their marriage. An incapacitating auto accident, coupled with a beautiful rehab nurse, only serves to exacerbate their wounded relationship. Jakes pulls no punches as he explores the ramifications of allowing your love to grow cold, and your heart to grow hard.
Mike Parker is a former pastor who writes from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.