Gray, who has previously reinterpreted tales of magic and metaphysics in such books as Madame Blavatsky’s Victorian Nightmares and Japanese Fairy World and Other Dark Tales, turns inward in this gripping memoir. The narrative focuses on her 15-year “rotting corpse of a marriage” to Darren, a man, she became engaged to only three months after they met at a chiropractic college in Iowa. She admits that Darren seemed at first to be “passionate, motivated, and most of all, kind,” but just a week after they married, he said to her, “If you don’t change your name, then you’re not really committed to me. It’s like you’re already planning our divorce before our marriage has even started.” She and her husband eventually set up a chiropractic clinic together, but troubles surfaced after they were sucked into a cultlike medical community by “brainwashed chiropractic wellness enthusiasts.” Gray’s husband fell into alcoholism, mismanaged the clinic, and had affairs with other women, leading Gray to the “painful release” of divorce. Gray blames herself for staying in the marriage so long, as she held onto the “childish belief that love can overcome all obstacles.” Gray’s intense memoir serves as a warning for individuals and couples to not get “stuck running around hoping for the perfect next step to appear.” (Self-published.)