debbieengle.com

Award-Winning Author

Proud recipient of 3 prestigious literary awards recognizing excellence in memoir and non-fiction.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards — Finalist, Non-Fiction Relationships

Litstar Book Awards — Winner, First Time Author

International Impact Books Award — Outstanding Literary Achievement, Memoir: Spirituality & Faith

About

Debbie Engle is a storyteller, speaker, and unapologetic former runaway bride who walked away from three weddings while learning to trust God with her deepest desires.

Testimonials

A Joy and Inspiration to Read

Debbie Engle’s book, “I am the Real Runaway Bride” was a joy and inspiration to read. I was challenged by her love for the Lord and her resolve in making hard decisions pertaining to seeking Mr. Right. Through candid stories and real life examples, Debbie encourages her readers to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” It was hard to put this book down wondering what would happen next. A great read with a wonderful ending!

Jason Williams, Executive Pastor at Marlow First Church, OK

Full Weight of the Journey

What Debbie Engle learned about waiting for the right one after broken engagements and failed relationships that the people telling her she was too picky never understood

I Am the Real Runaway Bride earns something that Christian dating and relationship books rarely offer with this much honesty, which is the full weight of the journey before the encouragement arrives. Broken engagements, failed relationships, unfulfilled dreams and the specific loneliness of waiting while the people around you question your standards are not softened here into stepping stones. They are named as what they actually were and that honesty is what gives Debbie’s eventual hope its credibility. A reader who has been told her list is too long or that she is too picky will feel the difference immediately between advice from someone who has sat in that same waiting and advice from someone who has not.

The runaway bride framing is doing real work beyond the title. It reframes the courage of walking away from the wrong relationship not as failure or indecision but as faithfulness to something better, which is the specific reframe that a woman in a relationship she knows is not right but fears leaving needs to encounter before she can act on what she already knows.

That reader gathers in Christian singles and dating communities, faith and relationships spaces, and the women’s ministry audiences who are actively looking for testimony that makes them laugh and cry in the same chapter because it sounds like their own story told back to them with hope attached. Debbie’s personal journey is the credential that no platform or framework can substitute for in that community.

When readers finish and tell you which part of your journey gave them permission to do something they had been afraid to do, what do they say it was?

Jeanmarie Coddington

Verified Reader

Filled with Insights

Are you searching for a meaningful relationship or seeking guidance on your journey of faith and love? I Am the REAL Runaway Bride is a deeply personal and honest account of a Christian woman’s struggle with her desire for marriage. From her early years, Debbie longed for companionship, and through her pages, she offers readers a heartfelt look at her faith-filled journey, filled with insights and spiritual lessons. With thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter, this book invites readers to reflect on their own paths. It’s a soul-stirring read for women of all ages looking for hope, wisdom, and inspiration on the road to love and self-discovery.

Amy Pszczolkowski, Associate Director, Graduate Career Development. School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.

Timely Wisdom

Heartfelt, RAW, emotional and at just the right times, humorous. I couldn’t stop turning pages and found myself saying “YES!” out loud repeatedly to the biblical truths and wisdom shared in the pages of this book. A great read and timely application for young folks today and single people of all ages when the world seems very lost.

Susan Rigney, Teacher