a teaser from the book

The testimony of human experience is that the highway of love is crooked—its twists and turns are documented and universally affirmed. It is an individual journey with a cosmic imprint and it is the accepted and understood language of the heart. Love can be an emotion, a feeling, and a passion. It is relational in its essence and spiritual by its presence. Love is power—a force. Power to empower, to heal, to create, to change, to hurt, to move, to control, to captivate, and to become. Love is the substance of happiness and the source of pain. It is the intrinsic reality that shapes our personality and gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Love is a story—the human story. It is the story of struggle and ecstasy, of success and failure, of mountain top highs and deep valley lows, of unbelievable warmth, and incredible chill. Love is a need—perhaps the greatest need. It is essential to self-esteem, important to spiritual health, critical to selfworth. To receive love is to be vulnerable to give love. To be loved is to be empowered to love. To accept love is to be able to express love. To feel love is the ability to share love.

More than an emotion, more than a feeling, more than a passion— love is also a decision. It is a choice. We can choose to love despite the disposition of our feelings and emotions. We can decide to seek the best interests of another in the absence of a strong attraction or a warm feeling.

This book is an experience on love’s crooked road. It is a journey we have all taken and it is a road many of us are currently traveling. You will recognize the crookedness of its path and identify with its twists and turns. Love’s Crooked Road is not just one person’s story; it is your story, your experience, your journey. You will meet yourself as you travel!

—The Foreword
Written by: Dan G. Campbell