"Get a life, Amanda..".. I heard that phrase many times throughout my marriage to Jim. "Get a life" was his way of chastising me for being too dependent on him.... too needy. The irony of it was that I depended on him for very little. I learned early on that when I needed him most, he was unavailable. Each time he hurled those words at me, my response was always the same: "Someday I will. And you won't be in it." He didn't believe me. When I fell in love with Jim and accepted his marriage proposal, I told him my dream was to have an uncomplicated life, filled with the same passion and devotion that surrounded me throughout my childhood. I wanted my children to feel loved and protected so that one day they would look back and have fond memories of their own childhood. Jim assured me that he wanted that also. He promised me a life of love and affection, friendship and laughter. He lied. "Good Wife Gone Bad" addresses serious social and emotional issues being dealt with in today's society: infidelity, emotional and verbal abuse, abortion, desertion and abandonment, rage issues, anxiety and panic disorders, post-partum depression, and divorce.
We start off with Amanda retelling her life. Starting with before she was born. How her brother died & her parents had her in hopes of filling the hole in their hearts that they had from loosing their son. She went on saying that her parents were very over protective of her. When she finally started dating & was head over in heals her boyfriend went to war. While he was in Vietnam she met Jim. Who honestly didn't take no for a answer. After agreeing to go on a date with him before he too went to war. Jim stated he wasn't taking NO for his answer. He wrote & called her constantly while he was away. They eventually fell in love. When Jim returned he asked Amanda to marry him.
That's where my heart starts going crazy for poor Amanda. The minute she marries Jim his personality does a complete 180!! One minute he's all lovey dovey & the next he's yelling at her for absolutely nothing!! Granted we've all been there done that type of thing. But, Jim was way over the top!!
Shortly after they were married. Jim & Amanda had a great morning. They had breakfast, made love & she went to run some errands. When she gets back his stuff is come & !/2 their checking account. With nothing but a "I can't explain. I'll call my parents tomorrow." But, tomorrow never came. But, she did get a surprise 6 weeks later when she found out she was pregnant with her first child. She was mortified and didn't know what to do. Thank goodness for her parents. Her mom soon quit her job to help Amanda with anything she needed. Amanda cried everyday and hardly slept. She went from wanting to know where Jim was. To wishing he was dead because, that's the only good reason for him not to call her for so long. 5 months later Jim calls begging her to take him back. She tells him she's pregnant & he can come to her parents house.
The next day Jim shows up at Amanda's house and looses it. He starts groveling & begging her to take him back. He said it was hard to explain but he was having a hard time being back from the war. And, wasn't sure that he wanted to be married & that the only people who'd understand it was his old Army buddies. After a lot of begging and starting over Amanda decided to take Jim back.
Shortly after their daughter was born Jim got a better job and they moved away from her parents & family. 5 months after the birth of their daughter Amanda got pregnant with their 2nd child. Jim didn't make it easy on Amanda. His attitude was anything but nice towards her. After the birth of their 2nd child, Amanda started suffering from postpartum depression. But, back then they weren't diagnosing it and she suffered from it for awhile. Which was really hard to read because my heart went out to her.
They soon buy a house and Jim has a good job. He also being in the Army Reserves he goes out of town quite often. He actually goes out of town more then he's home. Her parents come to visit as often as they can. Until they decide to move there. Jim decides it would be a good idea to sell their home and have a bigger one built with a apartment for Amanda's parents to live in. You'll learn he had his own motives for that later on.
Over the next 17yrs they built 2 houses. Jim was home very rarely bc he was living the single life while working out of town. They didn't have a happy,love filled marriage. It was more of a convenience. Their daughters knew they were unhappy. Every time Amanda tried talking to Jim about her loneliness. His famous line was "Get a life Amanda" He spent most of his time ignoring her or yelling at her. He was really good at mentally abusing her.
You'll see all the hardships that a lot of women deal with after having children and with being mentally abused. Amanda explained how she dealt with a loveless and 1 sided marriage. How she overcame the hardships. And, how she went from being the Perfect Wife to the strong woman that she was deep down inside of her. The woman that made sure that her and her daughters were going to be just fine in the end. This is def a MUST READ!!!
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