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This Was Never the Plan

Walking with God Through the Heartache of Divorce

Honest, compassionate guidance for navigating the heartache of divorce, rooted in God’s word and based on personal experience.

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To be released on April 1, 2026
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Description

Divorce brings a storm of emotions—grief, anger, confusion and shame. Yet while the ache lingers, life goes on.

Vaneetha Risner has walked through this pain. In this hopeful and honest book, she draws from Scripture and her own story to offer compassionate wisdom on...

  • Finding emotional clarity and letting go of shame
  • Trusting God in the uncertainties ahead
  • Healing relationally, resisting bitterness and finding community
  • Nurturing hope for the future

She also shares about navigating single parenting, church, dating and the work of rebuilding.

Whether you are in the early stages of divorce or beginning to restore your life, this book points to Christ’s faithful presence every step of the way. Helpful “check-ins” throughout invite you to pause, reflect and take hold of God again and again.

Includes appendices to guide friends and church leaders in supporting you.

Product details

Contents

  • Foreword by Paul David Tripp

    1. The Undoing
    2. Tears, Fears, and the Tenderness of God
    3. Letting Go Without Giving In
    4. The Lies We Believe and the Grace That We Need
    5. Reassessing, Rebuilding, and Rekindling Joy
    6. Parenting on Empty
    7. The Church, the Crowd, and the Friends Who Stayed
    8. Dating and the R Word
    9. Hope on the Horizon

    Questions for Personal Reflection or Discussion

    Appendix: How to Show Up When a Friend's Marriage Ends

    Appendix: Some Helpful Forms for Communicating with Friends and Church 

    Appendix: Helpful Resources on What the Bible Teaches 


Specification

Contributors Vaneetha Rendall Risner, Paul David Tripp
ISBN 9781802544145
Format Paperback
First published April 2026
Dimensions 5.3" x 8.5" x 0.5"
Weight 8.57 oz
Language English
Pages 192
Publisher The Good Book Company
Endorsements

Barnabas Piper

Author and podcaster

Vaneetha takes on a sensitive, deeply personal, potentially embarrassing reality with clarity and honesty yet without rancor or malice. As someone who has been through a divorce in similar circumstances to hers, I can attest to the painful yet healing accuracy of her wisdom in these pages. And I can attest to the unfailing hope she points the reader to in Christ, without flippancy or pat answers. Prior to this book, I knew of no books on divorce I would actually be willing to hand to a person navigating that devastating reality. Now I have one, and I am grateful for it!


Elyse Fitzpatrick

Author and Speaker

No one begins a marriage saying, ‘I sure hope I’ll get to walk through a divorce,’ and yet so many of us end up facing the realities of shattered dreams and broken promises. Once again, my friend Vaneetha Risner has parlayed her suffering into deep understanding, scriptural fidelity, and gracious blessing. I strongly recommend this resource, for those who are facing divorce and also for those who are seeking to help.


David Mathis

Executive Editor at desiringGod.org and author of Habits of Grace

Our God hates divorce. So do his people. We grieve the sin and profound hurt that lead to and come from divorces. As Jesus says, it was not this way from the beginning. Yet mourn them as we do, they happen, and so tragically often in our day, and many of Christ’s people are left aching and searching for Christian counsel in their devastation. Vaneetha has not only walked with faith through this devastation but has been courageous enough to answer the call to help other Christians who are hurting. This book is no celebration of divorce but an offer of real, solid Christian hope in the midst of one of life’s greatest anguishes. I pray this book will help you move forward in Jesus and draw closer to him in your pain.”

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This Was Never the Plan | Vaneetha Rendall Risner, Paul David Tripp |
$16.99 $13.99