Looking for relationship advice? Gary L. Riggins has it in spades. Who is this retired professor, and where does he find the marriage-saving advice offered in Leavers & Cleavers? Find out below!
Let’s get started learning about you. Who is Gary L. Riggins?
I am a retired Lee University professor who loves his wife and family.
Tell us a bit about Leavers & Cleavers. What is it about, what inspired the story, and how long did it take for you to move toward publication?
As an old teacher, Ie learned early on how critical human relationships are to the artful process of teaching and learning. Developing, structuring, and nurturing relationships is what that game is all about. It is across this bond that we teach and learn things like long division and the export products of Chile.
I studied and taught that process to potential teachers for four decades. About twenty-five years ago, it occurred to me that relationship-building skills have a direct application to the most intimate of all relationships, love and marriage. As I thought about it, it’s the other way around. Perhaps we learned about teaching and learning from our experiences with in society’s permanent human connections, i.e., marriage.
As a man of faith, my curiosity drove me to the original source of the marital relationship, Genesis 2:24. The Parson who conducted that first ceremony said, “Therefore, shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave only to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” It seemed to me then that love, the connective tissue joining marriage partners, is all about the willingness to leave all others and cleave to this one. As I studied those two commands of love, they began to make perfect sense.
For the last twenty-five years, I’ve shared those insights and implications at marriage retreats and conferences from coast to coast with a variety of churches and organizations as a “side gig” to my typical teaching duties. When I retired five years ago, I was free to write what I wanted. After completing a book with one of my graduate students (Kinder Chronicles: Big Life Lessons from Tiny Plastic Chairs, 2022), I began turning my notes from various retreats and conferences into my pet project, Leavers & Cleavers: Notes on an Old Recipe for Homemade Love with Daniel Brantley at Argyle Fox.
Who is your target audience, and what do you hope readers get out of your book?
This book is intended for at least three audiences. First, this book is for those who are contemplating the very serious step of leaving all they have and cleaving (or gluing) themselves to another imperfect human being…forever. Second, it’s for pastors and counselors who advise these folks. Lastly, Leavers and Cleavers is for those for whom the sticky stuff that originally connected them has lost a bit of its adhesive quality. The book offers a model for how to make a fresh batch of this expensive, holy glue.
Each reader will bring a unique perspective and set of experiences to these nouns and verbs. I hope each one is sensitive to what the Gentle Nazarene is trying to say between the lines of text. This project was never about making money, but something I felt deeply obligated to do. My prayer is that these words find their way to the hearts for whom they are meant. I have done my part, now I’m content to “trust the mystery.” May it be so.
How did you find Argyle Fox Publishing, and what made you think we would be a good fit?
I like to shop locally, and this was a great opportunity. I was very pleased with Daniel’s gracious guidance and impressed with his depth of knowledge of what works in the publishing business. In this process, I have made a friend who shares my passion for excellence.
What are you doing to market your book and let folks know it is available?
I have sent out about fifty books to pastors and friends in the counseling business. Their feedback has been positive and humbling. I am not a business guy, so any suggestions will be appreciated.
What feedback have you received so far on your book?
For the most part the reviews have been kind and very affirming.
What do you now know about book publishing that you wish you knew before getting started?
I know just enough to leave most of this stuff to the professionals.
What would you say to other authors who have a great story they aren’t sure if they should publish?
As I’ve said earlier, there are not two human stories or people that are just alike. On the tips of our fingers, each of us bears a unique signature from the Creator. The ideas in each head are clearly singular and unrepeated, and the body that caries them around is a priceless, one-of-a-kind work of art. How it all happened is interesting and there’s simply not an exact copy in the universe. It is in these uncommon stories that we understand our own human life. It is important that we tell what we know to be true.
Do you have another book up your sleeve? If so, can you give us a sneak preview of what to expect from your next book?
I am thinking of trying to tame my contrarian habit by getting it out of my head and onto paper. We tend to blindly accept a lot of what we are told, especially pithy advice. Things like “don’t just stand there, do something.” There are times when it’s critical that you “be there and shut up,” when it’s best to turn around the old advice we’ve accepted as ultimate truth, to “Don’t just do something, stand there.” There are many others for which that is the case.
Where can readers find you online?
I am very hard to find online because I don’t do social media. For those who want to reach out, they can contact me via email.
Is there anything else the world should know about you or your writing?
A close second to my wife and family in my love life is chocolate.
Thanks so much, and here’s to success!