Walk with Me: Pilgrim's Progress for Married Couples [Kindle Edition]

Annie Wald (Author), Eugene H. Peterson (Foreword)

Book Description

Peter and Celeste choose to travel as one on the lifelong journey to
the King's City. They are blissfully in love and bound to each other by the Cords
of Commitment. Shortly after visiting the Moon of Honey they discover that the journey
proves much more difficult than they expected. When they find themselves laboring
through the Swamp of Selfishness, crossing the dismal Plains of Distance, and nearly
becoming separated by the River of Unfaithfulness, their love for each other and
for the King is challenged. They must choose whether to continue on together, not
knowing if they can be warmed again by the Kindling of Affection, or visit the Valley
of Cut Cords to journey alone once more.

 

Inspired by the
timeless classic Pilgrim's Progress, Annie Wald's Walk with Me exposes
the journey of marriage as the epic passage that it is and the refining process
it can become. 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress became a timeless classic. Annie Wald's, Walk with Me deserves a spot on the same shelf. That's powerful praise for a debut book author, even though she has many anthologies and short stories to her credit. This amazing book of insightful wisdom belongs on every pastor's, counselor's married or engaged couple's bookshelf."

--Gail Welborn, Examiner.com, August 31, 2012.

"Walk with Me is at both times a mirror and a crystal ball. Not to mention the storytelling is superb."

-- Laura Boggess, The Wellspring, lauraboggess.com, October 26, 2012

"Most residents of Slouching City have forgotten the King of Love exists. One of the few who remember recently died leaving his guide to his beloved granddaughter Celeste, who begins reading the tome. Feeling uplifted by the book, Celeste seeks anything she can find on King and His Son the Servant.
 
Peter grew up in Upright Village where he and his family attended the weekly reading of the King's guidebook. He learned as a child to adhere to the King's rules though ironically his Peter's parents never traversed the path to the King's City.
 
Celeste and Peter meet and become a couple whose unity is as strong as the three strand bracelet cord tied around their wrists. Devotion reminds them this bracelet is as strong as their relationship is. The pair begins an odyssey to King's City passing through places like the Swamp of Selfishness, Meadows of Intimacy and the River of Unfaithfulness, etc.; at reach location their cord could be cut.
 
Applying John Bunyon's classic everyman allegorical Pilgrim's Progress, Annie Wald escorts readers on a journey for Married Couples through a metaphysically dangerous land filled with relationship distractors. The lead couple faces difficult challenges that place their love for one another in peril and their devotion to the King in danger from temptations. Readers will enjoy this engaging epic as a successful marriage is a long joint journey of the soul."

--Harriet Klausner, MBR Bookwatch

Review

Annie Wald reminds us that a wedding is more of a journey than an event; and that marriage is more of a story than a to-do list.  There is no map, but 'Walk with me' is a creative guide."

-John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, and author of Who Is This Man?

Annie has given couples a glimpse of hope with an amazing story through Walk with Me! Using Pilgrims Progress as a foundation for her story was the perfect plan. Every couple should read this book to get a different perspective of what it takes to succeed in marriage through the power of the Holy Spirit!

-Dr. Gary Smalley, author of the DNA of Relationships

In marriage, "two become one flesh" and travel together on a journey full of great troubles and joys. Wald's allegory provides Pilgrim's-Progress realism about how daunting the troubles and ultimately joyous the journey when two lovers set out in faith for the King's city.

-Harold Myra, author and former CEO of Christianity Today International.

Annie Wald has written a classic. It's a classic not just because Annie is a skilled writer, but because she will touch the depth of your soul. She really gets love. Not everyone does. Annie does this by combining two genres-a marriage book and an allegorical pilgrimage-that no one has combined before. It works beautifully because marriage is a pilgrimage; in fact, all long-term love is a pilgrimage. The allegory form allows Annie to say hard things about love easily and lightly, allowing her to get in close to your heart and do surgery before you know it is happening. It is an excellent book. I teared up several times in the last twenty pages.

-Paul Miller, author of A Praying Life and Love Walked Among Us.  

Walk with Me lights up married life in fresh ways, on virtually every page. Its insights are simultaneously fascinating, instructive, encouraging, sobering and transforming. And all of this comes in the form of a story that reads like a good mystery novel; you can't put it down!  Above all, Annie Wald shapes her compelling allegory around the singular passion that assures fulfillment for any couple: the King's Highlands, the King's City - the King, Jesus. Ultimately, Walk with Me is about for Whom and to Whom we're walking together. That's why it overflows with great hope for anyone seeking God's best for their marriage.

-David Bryant, founder, Proclaim Hope!; author, Christ is ALL!

Walk with Me is the kind of story that hits to the heart of every couple's journey toward healing and restoration! We will make this a must read for every couple before they come to our Smalley Intensive program!

-Michael and Amy Smalley, founders of SmalleyCenter.com

Broken marriages mean broken families which mean broken societies. Is there any hope? Annie Wald's book, 'Walk with Me', illustrates in a meaningful way that there is hope by helping us understand that marriage is not a onetime event, but a pilgrimage. Using the allegory of 'Pilgrim's Progress' is a unique way of instructing all of us, newlyweds and older couples, that the pilgrimage of marriage really only has meaning when God's love in Christ is made the central object of our walk together. This book will help not only newlyweds, but all who truly strive to make their marriage a pilgrimage of joy and peace, as we walk together!

-Denton Lotz, General Secretary emeritus, Baptist World Alliance, and Janice Lotz, hospital chaplain 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 503 KB
• Print Length: 280 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0802405932
• Publisher: River North; New Edition edition (August 24, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00885RRBE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,991 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story about joys and trials of marriage September 10, 2012

By lkw

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the first book I have ever read regarding marriage that shows why marriage is so enticing and yet so difficult. Wald has written a compelling story about a couple from varied backgrounds, with different expectations going into the marriage, yet committed to make their marriage work. Without being at all preachy or resorting to 'how-to's, she tells a story that is absorbing and one which everyone can relate to- couples married for decades, newly-marrieds, engaged couples and even people like me, single. I have a much clearer understanding of why marriage is so much hard work and yet so rewarding at the same time.
Written as an allegory, in the style of Pilgrim's Progress, one might think the writing would be dated, old-fashioned, unwieldy or stilted. In the hands of Annie Wald, this allegory is very modern, fresh and a fascinating, loving read. Enjoy!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A marriage book unlike any other September 26, 2012

By Trufflehunter

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

So here's what I love about this book:

1. It's a fantastic idea. I get to read a fun story and yet grow in my marriage and faith. Walk with me does not condescend to say, "just follow these 7 steps and you'll be married happily ever after." Instead it gently invites us to walk with another couple and closely observe their journey.
2. It is solidly rooted in the Word. Time and time again Wald works in scripture in clever and revealing ways.
3. Wald's allegorical elements help us better wrap our minds around the mystery of the gospel and marriage rather than deter. Walk with Me stirred thoughts of Bunyan's work and C.S. Lewis's fiction, and those are high watermarks. So many aspects of this story hit home, and hard.
4. Wald examines not only the common struggles of a marriage but also warns us of dangerous errors that we or the church can make in regards to our walk with Christ (e.g. legalism). It's an unexpected bonus to see these very real, very relevant issues painted into Wald's world.

Walk with Me does not read like any other book on marriage. You will not find intellectual breakdowns of conflict resolution techniques, prescriptions for minimum required this or that to make a happy marriage, or a laundry list of of male / female differences for you to ponder. I think the publishing world has those in spades. Instead, Annie Wald invites us to hear a captivating story, a tale of love, pain, redemption, and adventure. While we walk with the young couple on their journey, we will appreciate anew the joys and struggles of our own marriage.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Walk With Me September 17, 2012

By Lollipops

Format:Paperback

A new twist on an old classic, Annie Wald has innovatively re-written Pilgrim's Progress for couples. In doing so, she has managed to grasp the core essentials of what marriage is really all about, and provides sage advice on how one can successfully navigate the oft times rocky terrain of married life. For Annie, marriage is more than a one-day affair; it's a daily walk in a sometimes cold and unfriendly world. There are snares and pits that the married couple must avoid (or work their way out of). There are also periods of rest, refreshment, relaxation, and a rekindling of the old flame. Truth be told - if you are married to the same person that you said your vows to, whether that was 5 years ago or 50 - then there is something definitely wrong. Mark Lowry stated it something like this: "Life is birthdays, and bills; it's good, and bad, and ugly; it's new cars and skinned knees. And Jesus came to give life . . . ABUNDANTLY!" In this allegory, Annie invites you to take a walk with Peter and Celeste as they journey toward the King's City. You'll find yourself rooting for them, weeping with them and rejoicing with them. And you might even find yourself in this book, as well.

Inventive, imaginative, provocative, and compelling are just a few of the words I would use to describe WALK WITH ME. One last adjective might suffice: life-altering. Read it as a couple, share it with your couple friends . . . but don't ever forget the invitation to WALK WITH ME.