Burned, Blocked, and Better Than Ever: A Raw Journey of Healing

Dating, Divorce, and How Self-Awareness Becomes Your Salvation
A raw, faith-rooted memoir of divorce, self-discovery, and the kind of healing that begins when you stop pretending you're fine.
Joni had the marriage, the ministry, the life she was supposed to want. But behind the facade was a slow erosion of her connection to herself. Married to a man battling addiction and bound by unspoken rules of faith and family, she stayed silent for too long. When she finally walked away, she wasn't just leaving a husband—she was stepping out of a story that no longer fit.
Relationship and communication coach Joni Woods shares an unflinching and boldly vulnerable memoir about divorce, emotional abuse, and the long, hard path back to wholeness. From surviving church judgment to navigating dating apps and finding her voice, she reveals the silent toll unhealthy relationships take—and what real healing actually looks like.
Told through first dates gone wrong, spiritual deconstruction, co-parenting tensions, and a reawakening of her sense of self, Burned, Blocked, and Better Than Ever offers a offers a multi-perspective lens for people to explore their boundaries, patterns, and emotional needs.
For anyone who's stayed too long or felt too broken to begin again, you'll learn:- Why there's no merit badge for suffering through relationships that are breaking you.- Why healing starts with radical self-awareness—and how to access it.- How to communicate your relationship boundaries and stop performing peace.- What men are navigating emotionally—and why it matters to your healing too.- How to rebuild your identity without roles, titles, or someone else's timeline.
Ultimately uplifting and surprisingly humorous, Burned, Blocked, and Better Than Ever invites you into both the heartbreak and hope of starting over. Joni shows healing from divorce isn't a straight path—it's a messy, beautiful one that starts with self-awareness. This book holds up a mirror and asks: Are you being honest about what you need? And are you brave enough to ask for it?