Stefanie Carnes

The media goes wild when politicians and celebrities being caught "cheating" on their spouses are exposed in public. Most of these types of stories focus on the person doing the "cheating," not the partner who is left behind. After the media spotlight cools down, what happens to these partners? How do they make the decision to stay or go? Is there really any hope for the future of the relationship? How do they survive the shame and move forward? "Mending A Shattered Heart" provides real hope, promise and inspiration to readers who are struggling. Anyone who has discovered their loved one, the one person that they are supposed to trust completely, has been cheating on them will want to read this book. Readers have an opportunity to explore whether the person they are in a relationship with is simply behaving badly or truly suffers from a disease called sex addiction. Knowing the difference and knowing what to do about it can be transformational. Author and editor, Stefanie Carnes brings together several leading experts in the field of sex addiction and family therapy to guide the reader through an assortment of difficult questions, including, Should I stay or should I go?, How Do I Set Boundaries and Keep Myself Safe?, What Does It Mean if My Partner Has Shown an Interest in Minors? and "What should I tell the kids?" Each of these topics are tackled in individual chapters producing a comprehensive guide that offers readers expertise on how to begin the painful road of mending a shattered heart. What is unique about "Mending A Shattered Heart" is that it offers such inspiration and promise for the partner of a sex addict. It shows the seriousness of sex addiction and offers hope by showing that treatment can be successful, but hard work needs to be done--by both the partner and the addict. Without partners really examining their relationship with the sex addict, they can find themselves in a spiral of devastating relationships, essentially leaving the relationship and then falling in love with the same type of person over and over again with the same disastrous results. "Mending A Shattered Heart" shows the reader that they do have options. Even if the partner makes the decision to leave the relationship, there are things they can do to help them in their own recovery and make sure this never happens again. If they choose to stay in the relationship, they can work toward repairing the damaged relationship along with their own recovery. All the material in "Mending A Shattered Heart" is provided in a question and answer format that delves into essential information including therapeutic and practical information that the partner can use right away. This second edition of the book includes a new focus on the impact of the trauma when a partner discovers his or her partner is cheating and what to do about it.