Guest Review: Surprised by Remarriage by Ginger Kolbaba

Another review by Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress, freelance writer and speaker, www.writingforhim.com.

Subtitle: A Guide to the Happily Even After. Revell Books, 2006. 192 pp. $12.99. Reviewed by Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress.

Ginger Kolbaba has written an honest, transparent, and sometimes blunt acknowledgement of the complications generated by marriage to someone who has already experienced a broken relationship. Her own husband was divorced following his wife’s unfaithfulness, so she writes with the authority of one who has “been there”.

Kolbaba admits early on that “the surprise comes when we discover the new marriage is as difficult as the former one . . . that fresh start really wasn’t as fresh as we’d hoped”. She then develops three major sections, covering many of the factors included in remarriage. The primary topics focused on dealing with the past, adjusting to “family” life (including children and in-laws) as the second wife, and the marriage itself.

Surprised by Remarriage an easy read as it is filled with real life illustrations. Yet it is also strong in the spiritual and truth elements. One of the book’s positives is balance as it offers a lighthearted approach without being flippant. The writing is descriptive and unexpectedly humorous at times. One fun addition is her use of a variety of introductory quotes.

Those in a second marriage from a widowed status will only be helped by this book if they have married a divorced person. That is the primary focus. But those readers should find it freshly worded, hopeful, and a challenging call to pursue God’s pattern for relationships.