Also by this author: Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption
Published by Good Book Company on April 1, 2026
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life, Marriage
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If you are reeling from a divorce you never wanted, This Was Never the Plan is a lifeline. - Steve Grissom, Founder of DivorceCare
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 futureShe 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.
This heartfelt, practical book is full of wisdom for Christians who are navigating an unwanted separation or divorce. Author Vaneetha Rendall Risner shares vulnerable stories and insights from her own experiences, and she unpacks common struggles that Christians face. For example, she writes about ways that Christians might question where God is in all of this, especially if they expected a healthy, thriving marriage as a reward for their own personal obedience. This book encourages Christians to be honest about their doubts and struggles with God, and to allow themselves to experience their difficult emotions over such a life-shattering event, instead of pretending that they have it all together.
This Was Never the Plan is primarily directed towards the injured party in a shattered marriage, such as in cases of infidelity, abandonment, or abuse. However, Rendall Risner also speaks to people who caused the dissolution of their marriage, or who played a major role in that relationship falling apart. Rendall Risner writes with grace and compassion for all her readers, and she encourages them to take ownership of their failings and find grace and peace in God. She shows that no matter what, there is grace for you as you take stock of your losses, pick up the pieces, and move forward.
The author’s personal honesty makes this book especially meaningful, because she gives you a window into her own thoughts and struggles, including with parenting her teenage daughters after their father abandoned the family. She offers an honest assessment of her failings, and she offers practical advice that goes beyond general principles. She reflects in another chapter about ways divorce may affect someone’s friendships, family relationships, and situation at church. In all of this, she writes with grace and insight, and she also includes helpful advice for people who are reading this book as part of a divorced loved one’s support system.
This Was Never the Plan: Walking with God Through the Heartache of Divorce is a thought-provoking, wise, and practical book that I highly recommend. Rendall Risner draws on Scripture in every chapter, providing a deeply biblical look at lament, forgiveness, healing, and finding joy again. She says that her goal in writing this book was to create the kind of resource that she would have found helpful when her husband left her. She definitely succeeded in keeping this practical and helpful, and this book will bless many suffering people through its raw honesty, practical insights, and biblically grounded messages of hope.
