What’s it like when the man you married is already married to God? asksPastors’ 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’ Wives is a dramatic portrayal of the private lives of pastors’ wives, caught between the demands of faith, marriage, duty, and love.
Goodreads Blurb
What would it be like to be married to a man who serves as the head of a Church? I literally could not imagine. How would a situation like that affect your marriage? Is there a certain way you have to present yourself to the community? I did enjoy reading this book because I found it surprisingly informative. I thought that the three female characters were developed very well. I really liked getting to know each of them individually-they were distinct and different personalities. The back stories as to how they ended up the wives of pastors was very interesting, as well. I don't think I have ever felt a calling that would be that strong yet.
The book does not say that these churches are unflawed. Instead, the author handles the matter frankly and openly. The reader does not have to be super religious to read this book. I did like that the book really made me think and would recommend this book to adult readers.
3 1/2 Stars
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