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Picking Up the Pieces: Recovering From Broken Relationships
A broken romantic relationship can wreck lives and is especially painful if you didn’t want it to end. Here is relief to lead you from heartache to a healthier relationship with Christ.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2003
23 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Lou Priolo
59 books45 followersLOU PRIOLO is the Director of Biblical Counseling at Eastwood Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, Alabama. A graduate of Calvary Bible College and Liberty University, he is the author of The Heart of Anger , and The Complete Husband. Lou is also a Fellow in the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors. He resides in Wetumpka, Alabama with his wife, Kim, and daughters, Sophia and Gabriella.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 26, 2025
3.75 ⭐️
March 29, 2024
I really appreciated some parts of this book and disagreed with how the author phrased other parts. This book is higher on the exhortation side of the gamut and lower on the encouragement side. Priolo says that when he counsels, he begins by encouraging his counselees; I felt that he could have reorganized the book to start with encouragements rather than exhortations.
The book has a “thought-life” barometer which I found to be super helpful. The barometer is intended to diagnose whether or not the reader is thinking biblically about his/her breakup. I appreciated Priolo’s note that in order to change one’s feelings, one must change his thought patterns and actions (e.g. by not rehearsing wrongs in his thoughts, by believing the best of an ex, and by praying for her). I did think, however, that Priolo paints romantic feelings very negatively, and discounts them by saying that “falling in love is not a biblical construct.” He also says that, “loneliness is primarily the result of not being in fellowship with God,” which I found to be problematic. Additionally, I felt that he attributes sorrow/sadness to potential idolatry too frequently. Priolo notes that not all sorrow and pain is the result of personal sin in a believer’s life, but since the predominant focus of the book is how to fight various sins, that point is somewhat discounted.
Some quotes I liked:
“Self-pity is rooted in such things as selfishness, pride, idolatry, and resentment. It tempts us to focus on what we don’t have (selfishness), what we believe we deserve (pride), what we want (idolatry), what others have been given that we have not (envy), and why God has seen fit to bless other instead of us (resentment).”
“One’s ability to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation is directly related to the ability to see God’s hand in that situation.”
“Patience is the ability, while experiencing physical pain or mental turmoil, to keep your emotions (grief, fear, and anger) from developing into sinful thoughts, words, attitudes, or actions…”
The book has a “thought-life” barometer which I found to be super helpful. The barometer is intended to diagnose whether or not the reader is thinking biblically about his/her breakup. I appreciated Priolo’s note that in order to change one’s feelings, one must change his thought patterns and actions (e.g. by not rehearsing wrongs in his thoughts, by believing the best of an ex, and by praying for her). I did think, however, that Priolo paints romantic feelings very negatively, and discounts them by saying that “falling in love is not a biblical construct.” He also says that, “loneliness is primarily the result of not being in fellowship with God,” which I found to be problematic. Additionally, I felt that he attributes sorrow/sadness to potential idolatry too frequently. Priolo notes that not all sorrow and pain is the result of personal sin in a believer’s life, but since the predominant focus of the book is how to fight various sins, that point is somewhat discounted.
Some quotes I liked:
“Self-pity is rooted in such things as selfishness, pride, idolatry, and resentment. It tempts us to focus on what we don’t have (selfishness), what we believe we deserve (pride), what we want (idolatry), what others have been given that we have not (envy), and why God has seen fit to bless other instead of us (resentment).”
“One’s ability to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation is directly related to the ability to see God’s hand in that situation.”
“Patience is the ability, while experiencing physical pain or mental turmoil, to keep your emotions (grief, fear, and anger) from developing into sinful thoughts, words, attitudes, or actions…”
July 6, 2025
Top shelf help for relationship breakups - its principles can easily be adapted to pastorally help those in marriage where the embers of Eros are burning low at the moment.
July 16, 2025
Would recommend this for anyone who has been through a breakup or knows someone going through a break up as I've read this book more than any other except the Bible itself.
Summary: In a very practical way, the book walk you through answering the question, "How do you walk out the end of a relationship (dating, engagement, or marriage) in a way that glorifies Jesus?"
It helped me walk through divorce and Glorify God in what I did and how I did it - all while I was tempted to go all different directions but the one the Bible says. The book is formatted into 31 bite-sized chapters (5-10 pages each) that you can use as a devotional or read through.
Summary: In a very practical way, the book walk you through answering the question, "How do you walk out the end of a relationship (dating, engagement, or marriage) in a way that glorifies Jesus?"
It helped me walk through divorce and Glorify God in what I did and how I did it - all while I was tempted to go all different directions but the one the Bible says. The book is formatted into 31 bite-sized chapters (5-10 pages each) that you can use as a devotional or read through.
July 18, 2013
Lots of helpful things to consider when a relationship comes to an end.
April 16, 2014
Helpful resource for someone who is working through a broken relationship. I have already given a copy away.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews