“I did not want to go on the Retrouvaille weekend. My brother and his wife were involved with Marriage Encounter at the time and they are the ones who convinced me to go. My husband asked me to go and I said “”No way, I just want out.”. My sister-in-law made a special trip to visit with me and talk to me about how I was dealing with our separation, how was I doing in general, and couldn’t I just give the weekend a chance and then make a final decision about the outcome of the marriage after going on the weekend. I went because they said there was still hope, not because my husband had said it. He enlisted the help of my family, knowing I would give credibility to my brother and sister-in-law’s hopes; so, I decided to do one last nice thing for him before quitting the marriage. And here we are, now, about to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I recommend finding an ally among the other spouse’s family or friends, convince them that the weekend is a good idea, and then ask them to talk to the spouse who is unwilling to attend. Hope this helps someone!”