Welcome to the blog tour for Pastors' Wives by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen!
What's it like when the man you married is already married to God? asks Pastors' Wives, an often surprising yet always emotionally true first novel set in a world most of us know only from the outside.
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen's debut novel Pastors' Wives follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a megachurch called Greenleaf. Reeling from the death of her mother, Ruthie suffers a crisis of faith---in God, in her marriage, and in herself. Candace is Greenleaf's "First Lady," a force of nature who'll stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace's son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their roads collide in one chaotic event that exposes their true selves. Inspired by Cullen's reporting as a staff writer for Time magazine, Pastors' Wivesis a dramatic portrayal of the private lives of pastors' wives, caught between the demands of faith, marriage, duty, and love.
Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/klK8c
Lisa Takeuchi Cullen was a longtime staff writer for TIME magazine. She now develops TV pilots for production companies and recently sold her first pilot for "The Ordained" to CBS. Born in Japan, Cullen lives in New Jersey with family.
Find out more about Lisa at http://lisacullen.com.
Review:
Ruthie is in for a big surprise one day when her husband feels he's been "called" to join the ministry. She always knew he was religious, and she decides to throw caution to the wind and follow him from New York to Georgia. They find themselves in a whole new world of a mega church led by the famous couple Aaron and Candace Green. Candace, the "First Lady" of Greenleaf , is fiercely protective of her family and her church. She oversees everything and knows all. Her daughter-in-law Ginger is struggling to fit in while dealing with her past. All three ladies will finds themselves at crossroads, and they will all have to discover how to live their lives beyond just being pastors' wives.
Oh wow, there was a lot to take in when reading this book. I loved Ruthie from the start. I loved that she loved her husband so much she was willing to take a chance and follow him to make a life together. Her ability to ask hard questions was really important both to her character and the story. Candace was someone I'm not sure I liked, but boy did I respect her. I actually really loved her practical approach to everything. This is a woman who knows how to take charge and get things done. She also has great faith though, and this permeates through all she does. Ginger took me longer to like. I just wanted her to be a bit more assertive in her life, but I could also understand why she did what she did to some extent.
Overall, I felt this book took an amazing approach to the story. I know next to nothing about those mega churches, and this was a very interesting look into that world. It pointed out flaws and strengths of this system. I appreciated the open approach. I could easily see the appeal of someone like Aaron Green. Incredibly open-minded and charismatic, he still managed to be humble in his life. This book shows the authors ability to take a critical yet loving look at an amazing world. The book completely drew me in and entertained while still making me think. That's a lot for one book, but this book managed to accomplish all that. I highly recommend it!
Book provided for review.
One winner will receive:
- An iPad Mini
- A $25 iTunes gift card
So grab your copy of Pastors' Wives and join Lisa on the evening of May 23rd for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)
No comments:
Post a Comment