Called to Peace: A Survivor's Guide to Finding Peace and Healing After Domestic Abuse

What do you do when you don't believe in divorce, but find yourself in a toxic, or even dangerous, marriage? This is an agonizing struggle for many women; it certainly was for Joy Forrest, founder of Called to Peace Ministries.

Joy prayed, sought counseling, and read every book she could find on the subject, but the intimidation she endured from her husband continued to escalate until fleeing the danger became her only option. Even then, she found herself overwhelmed by guilt and shame. As a devout Believer, Joy immersed herself in prayer and Bible study and, over time, began to see God's heart for the oppressed and realized the erroneous beliefs that had kept her in bondage.

Called to Peace is one part memoir and one part guidebook. Joy's story and insight will help you to recognize the signs of an abusive relationship, as well as provide you spiritual truths to combat guilt and promote healing after abuse. Whether you are in an abusive relationship yourself, or desire to help someone else who is suffering from domestic abuse, this book offers hope, inspiration, and biblical guidance.

Joy Forrest is the founder and executive director of Called to Peace Ministries. She has been an advocate for victims of domestic violence since 1997 and holds an M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She held the position of Community Educator for Safe Space Domestic Violence Services in Louisburg, NC from 2000-2001, and has served as a biblical counselor in church settings and private practice since 2005. Her own experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, along with her involvement with Safe Space and church counseling, caused her to see a major need for churches to become better equipped to help families affected by DV. In January 2015, she helped establish Called to Peace to promote domestic violence awareness, particularly within the faith community. Joy is a Certified Advocate with the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is a contributing expert for the DivorceCare support group curriculum and the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship's Counseling Domestic Abuse videos. Joy has spoken on domestic violence in a variety of venues from seminary classrooms, to seminars and conferences, to radio and television. Her blog contains many articles on domestic abuse, as well as posts on other counseling issues and victorious Christian living. In her spare time, Joy loves traveling and spending time with her family-- especially her 11 grandchildren.