About Laurie

I’m Laurie Sharlene Hall, the author of An Affair of the Mind (AAOTM), the first book to look at the impact sexual addiction has on a spouse.

Click here to read reviews of AAOTM.

Or maybe you’re one of the sisterhood or brotherhood (sex addiction is not exclusively a male problem: there are a growing number of women who are sex addicts, too) traveling the unexpected path of marriage to someone with a sexual addiction and you’re looking for hope and some answers to the question, “Now that I know, what do I do?”  If you’re traveling this journey, you also know that porn kills love  and my heart aches that you do because I know the implications and how that all works out in your life.  My hope is you will find strength and encouragement here and return often.  

Laurie Hall is a pseudonym that I legally changed my name to in order to protect my family.  Sharlene is my “birth” name which is why I keep spelling it out rather than relegating it to a middle initial.  After an AAOTM came out, my mailbox was deluged with letters from spouses (mostly women) who said, “You wrote my story.”  Over the next six years, I traveled the country and into Canada, speaking at churches, colleges, and non-profits about the damage pornography does to the individuals who use it and to their spouses and families.  It was a national discussion whose time had come.  

In the wake of AAOTM, other books have been published also detailing the effects of sexual addiction on the spouse.  Today, there is ground-breaking work being done on treating spouses of sex addicts not as co-addicts or co-dependents, but as sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder.  This is a huge and much needed shift in how spouses are viewed and cared for.

Ten years ago, I took several giant steps back from working in this arena.  I took back my name.  I stopped accepting speaking engagements. I did nothing to promote AAOTM. Eventually, after selling 120,000 copies, the publisher took it out of print.  And the letters from readers, who work really hard to find me, keep coming in.  A year ago, I heard from Lenore Nelson, one of my readers who at the time was living in Australia. Lenore wanted to know why she couldn’t find AAOTM anymore.  Her friend, Teri Kempe, graciously scanned the book and I am in the process of updating it and turning it into an ebook.  

The readers who contact me say they want more resources to help them rebuild their lives.  So, I’m stepping back up to share what I’ve learned about how to rebuild your life and let’s do this together because all of you have inspirational stories and a tremendous amount of wisdom to offer to each other.  Check back often because the site is still in  development. New resources are being developed and will be regularly posted.

With deep admiration for your courage,

Laurie   icon-heart  

Articles by Laurie Posted on Divorce360.com