Wedding Vows – Write on the World

For something people describe as sacred, romantic, and eternal, marriage in the United States is surprisingly bureaucratic. Before two people can be “married,” they need a government-issued license. A clerk records the paperwork. A legal framework determines how assets will be divided if the relationship ends. And in many cases, the couple signs the same basic legal agreement that millions of other couples sign, whether it suits their lives or not. In other words, marriage—at least in the eyes of the state—is already a contract. We just pretend it isn’t.

Two ways to say “I do”: one sacred, one legal—both important, both separate.

The confusion comes from the fact that in modern culture, two completely different institutions are treated as though they are the same thing: religious marriage and legal marriage. They are not.

Continue reading →

Bethany C. Morrow’s The Body is a pulse-pounding supernatural horror novel that turns marriage, faith, and family obligation into a living nightmare—and it doesn’t flinch. Centered on a woman who has spent her entire life being told she will never be good enough, this is a story about what happens when the expectations placed on women become violent, literal, and inescapable.

Get your copy of The Body from my independent online bookstore today!

Mavis Carson broke away from her family’s church years ago, but the damage is permanent. Her mother, Marie Carson, presides over the congregation with an iron grip, demanding impossible perfection and absolute obedience. Mavis has internalized those rules so completely that even as an adult, she’s riddled with anxiety and convinced she’s one mistake away from losing everything. Her one perceived victory is her marriage to Jerrod, a man everyone—including Mavis herself—believes she doesn’t deserve. When the seven-year itch sets in and a freak car accident kicks off a string of increasingly disturbing incidents, Mavis begins to realize that the congregation she escaped may never have truly let her go.

Continue reading →