Grounds - Paperback

by Missy McBride (Author)

From Missy McBride, whose advocacy for Mississippi divorce-law reform has generated more than 9 million views across social media.

After the death of her first husband, Rachel Watkins believes she has found a second chance at love. She couldn't have been more wrong.

When Rachel marries Stewart Langston, a charming Mississippi attorney, she believes she is giving herself and her young twins a new beginning. Instead, what begins as a promising relationship slowly becomes an emotionally abusive marriage defined by manipulation, coercive control, and secrets Rachel never imagined.

After thirteen years of walking on eggshells, Rachel can no longer ignore what her marriage has become. A final betrayal-and a night that leaves her numb and detached-makes one thing painfully clear: she cannot spend the rest of her life this way.

But Mississippi divorce law-and her husband-have different plans. Stewart refuses to consent to a divorce. Rachel's only alternative is to file on grounds and prove habitual cruel and inhuman treatment to a conservative judge who seems unmoved by what she has endured.

To win her freedom, Rachel must reveal the man behind his carefully constructed façade, and battle a legal system that allows him to keep her trapped.

For Rachel, leaving is only the beginning.

Inspired by real-life legal injustice, Grounds shines a light on Mississippi's archaic divorce laws-and what can happen when the law gives one spouse the power to keep another trapped in a marriage.