The Battered Preacher's Wife was featured in 31ten Magazine for the February 2008 GO TO http://www.31tenmagazine.com/ Dr. Wiggins is the Author of the Month. Please go read the Interview and article.
Here is an excert from the interview:
Survivor Exposes the Sin of Spousal Abuse in Christian Marriages
One woman's true story of abuse, escape, and triumph
Countless Christian women sit in church pews every Sunday filled with dread about returning home to the dark secrets of abuse. The Battered Preacher's Wife is a true story of survival and triumph. In this passionately honest account, Dr. Avril E. Wiggins shares her tragic experience of being trapped in a hopeless marriage with an abusive Pentecostal preacher. Wife battery is a taboo topic in the church. Most clergy encourage women to keep the family together at all costs and endure the suffering. That kind of counsel leaves women no hope, no help, and no escape. Children who grow up in these relationships assume that abuse is normal behavior, and the abuse continues from generation to generation.
The Battered Preacher's Wife shines through the darkness and sheds light on a serious problem faced by Christian women across the nation. Wiggins gives you a down-to-earth glimpse of what women suffer in these abusive relationships. But she also delivers a strong message of hope-- even for the wives of preachers! "I know what it's like to be a survivor of child abuse, rape, molestation, spousal abuse. Along with verbal and psychological abuse, and I am alive to tell my story," says Wiggins. "With God, I came out victorious. I may have some battle scars, but thanks to Jesus, I'm still alive."
Once I read this compelling page-turner, I had to speak to Dr. Wiggins and tell her how much I needed to read her testimony.
Talking to Dr. Wiggins was like having an overdue conversation with a long-lost friend. She is a strong woman with an even stronger anointing. If it weren't for both of us having to get to church on time, we would have talked for hours. The Battered Preacher's Wife isn't just a book for the nosey, or the abused, she has a message that I feel every woman needs to hear. She candidly gives her readers a glimpse of her past and what it was like to live a double life. The very public life of the wife of an influential Elder and Prophet, and the ultra-private life of a battered woman.
We exchanged greetings and I expressed my gratitude for her being courageous enough to tell her story, then, I had to ask the burning question:
What made you decide that now was the time to tell your story?
"I was commanded (by God) to tell it.and be transparent!"
And transparent she is. Dr. Wiggins shines light on the deep dark secret that no one wants to admit is even happening. In The Battered Preacher's Wife she tells of the signs of a potential abuser, the signs of an abused woman, and the dangerous generational curses that lead to both ends. Her story is the story of many women who don't have the strength to leave or the courage to tell. She has endured so much, but she never gave up on God or His power to deliver her.
She found the strength to leave through the eyes of her daughters and her willingness not to subject them to be witnesses to anymore abuse. Though her eldest daughter has some recollection of it she was still spared the lasting effects because she has a praying mother.
Her message is conveyed during our conversation when I asked how does one totally become delivered from being an abuser?
"If you don't allow the Lord to take that (Spirit) out of you, then you won't be free."
It's simply a matter of surrender. God is willing to do the work, but we have to allow Him to do it.
I encourage you all to read this wonderful account of trial and triumph. Discuss it with your Women's groups, friends, and your daughters. No one ever goes through something like the events described in The Battered Preacher's Wife without it being used for God's glory. Let the testimony of Dr. Avril Wiggins inspire you. God can and will deliver you. Just make the first step in His direction.
After reading this testimony one might ask exactly how did she heal from all this?
God has given Dr. Wiggins the instruction to complete her story in her next project. We will learn how she allowed God to heal her, how she was able to hold her head up, mother her children, and find love again.
Dr. Avril E. Wiggins, along with her wonderful husband Elder Joe Wiggins, started House of Rapha International Ministries Inc. in September 2003. Pastor Wiggins has been in ministry for nearly 19 years. She and her husband are the parents of Zipporah, Shekinah, Zithri, Josiah, and Micah.
The Battered Preacher's Wife (paperback, 978-1-60266-909-3) can be purchased online by visiting the following websites:
http://www.xulonpress.com/ ($9.99)
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.target.com/
Please visiti Dr. Avril Wiggins and House of Rapha International Ministries at http://www.horim.info/.
-LoVetta Jenkins
One woman's true story of abuse, escape, and triumph Countless Christian women sit in church pews every Sunday filled dread about returning home to the dark secret of abuse. 
