Yearning for a warm and loving marriage, Yvette works hard as a housewife and on their Iowa dairy farm to satisfy her husband, Luke, and tries to motivate him to be a loving and caring husband and father. But hidden behind his charming public facade, Luke is critical and demands more submission. With the help of her friend, Delores, Yvette grapples with the meaning and application of Biblical submission to her husband, changes how she relates to her husband, and endeavors to correct the misbeliefs of their teenaged sons, Greg and Kyle. Luke indoctrinates his wife and children on the meaning of submission and obedience. But one day he goes too far. Will their marriage survive the storm? Will Luke become the warm and loving husband Yvette craves? Will their daughter, Tanya, learn to trust her father? And will their sons become loving and respectful young men? Waneta Dawn grew up on a dairy farm in Kalona, Iowa, and was raised in the Mennonite faith. She currently lives with her daughter and next door to her mother in Iowa. She has researched domestic violence, particularly dominance through verbal, emotional, psychological, and spiritual abuse for over ten years. For two of those years she used curriculum from Duluth, Minnesota to facilitate the Batterer's Education Program, a men's group, which met one evening a week and operated through the Iowa Department of Corrections. Ms Dawn hopes Behind the Hedge will help heal and strengthen relationships to the glory of God.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." -- John 8:44
Many people think of spousal abuse as comprised of beatings and other horrific forms of violence. Yes, those are spousal abuse, but many abusive spouses also use words, threats, emotional distress, economic constraints, and isolation to reduce their partners to near slave-like submission. Behind the Hedge recounts one such story and helps demonstrate that solutions can be difficult.
For Christians, a particular challenge comes when husbands misinterpret the Bible to give them complete and inconsiderate authority over their wives and children. How can a wife prevail in such a circumstance?
Behind the Hedge shows that being more and more submissive doesn't create a solution, but rather encourages more abuse.
Although this book is labeled as a novel, it read more like a Christian marriage manual to me . . . one aimed at wives whose husbands aren't properly playing their God-directed roles to serve the best interests of their families. If you know someone who may be on the receiving end of abuse from a Christian spouse, this book could make a helpful gift. Your prayers will be needed, as well.
Waneta Dawn writes well about her subject. You'll feel the family's pain, and you'll be revolted by what you read. It wasn't easy to make it through this book because the punch line is landed with such authority. Abuse harms everyone who is touched by it.
Does the leopard change his spots? Does the enemy who is in the world stop lying?
Read this book and find out what the lessons are for being on the receiving end of spousal abuse.
Many people think of spousal abuse as comprised of beatings and other horrific forms of violence. Yes, those are spousal abuse, but many abusive spouses also use words, threats, emotional distress, economic constraints, and isolation to reduce their partners to near slave-like submission. Behind the Hedge recounts one such story and helps demonstrate that solutions can be difficult.
For Christians, a particular challenge comes when husbands misinterpret the Bible to give them complete and inconsiderate authority over their wives and children. How can a wife prevail in such a circumstance?
Behind the Hedge shows that being more and more submissive doesn't create a solution, but rather encourages more abuse.
Although this book is labeled as a novel, it read more like a Christian marriage manual to me . . . one aimed at wives whose husbands aren't properly playing their God-directed roles to serve the best interests of their families. If you know someone who may be on the receiving end of abuse from a Christian spouse, this book could make a helpful gift. Your prayers will be needed, as well.
Waneta Dawn writes well about her subject. You'll feel the family's pain, and you'll be revolted by what you read. It wasn't easy to make it through this book because the punch line is landed with such authority. Abuse harms everyone who is touched by it.
Does the leopard change his spots? Does the enemy who is in the world stop lying?
Read this book and find out what the lessons are for being on the receiving end of spousal abuse.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Waneta Dawn
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Running a dairy farm, caring for 3 children and a demanding husband, Yvette Miller's focus is on survival. Until comments from her mother and from her friend Delores make her stop and take a look at the monster taking over her life. She has to do something. Her children have already been damaged, and the growing monster will destroy them if she doesn't stop it. But what can she do? There are no easy solutions. Especially when your choices are limited because you are a Mennonite woman whose faith requires you to turn the other cheek, to return good for evil, to suffer rather than retaliate, and to submit to your husband even when you know he is ridiculous or wrong.
What does happen behind that hedge?
What does happen behind that hedge?
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Are you, or is someone you care about, experiencing marital abuse and you just don't know what to do or how you can help?
In this fictional account of an abusive marriage within a Christian context, Waneta Dawn has done an amazing job of exploring the dynamics of such a relationship (and the effects of it upon the entire family). It is written with God given insight, sensitivity and compassion.
In addition to being a good read (with a completely surprise ending!), the story portrays biblical guidance for women experiencing abuse that has not escalated into violence as yet.
Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence
In this fictional account of an abusive marriage within a Christian context, Waneta Dawn has done an amazing job of exploring the dynamics of such a relationship (and the effects of it upon the entire family). It is written with God given insight, sensitivity and compassion.
In addition to being a good read (with a completely surprise ending!), the story portrays biblical guidance for women experiencing abuse that has not escalated into violence as yet.
Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a page turner for those trapped by unbiblical views of headshi and...
Waneta Dawn's book delineates the struggles of a conservative evangelical woman (in this case Mennonite) who must weigh the reality of an abusive marriage against all that she has... Read more
Published on January 20, 2011 by Catherine C. Kroeger
5.0 out of 5 stars
A novel about domestic abuse in a Christian context
By Barbara Roberts, author of [...]
At last, someone has written a novel that faithfully handles the issue of domestic abuse in a Christian context. Read more
At last, someone has written a novel that faithfully handles the issue of domestic abuse in a Christian context. Read more
Published on January 1, 2009 by Barbara Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read
Behind the Hedge is a novel worth reading! It will keep your attention as it perfectly depicts daily life with a verbal, emotional, and spiritual abuser. Read more
Published on December 19, 2008 by Susan Greenfield
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