Last night I finished Heavens to Betsy, a novel by an ordained woman pastor (CCDoC) about a 30 year old single woman pastor. It's written entirely in the first person, which I know irritates my friend Amy but doesn't bother me very much.
Betsy serves as an associate in Nashville after leaving her solo pastorate somewhere farther south. She encounters a lot of sexism and also some ageism...she also, I think, in many ways typifies the young clergy woman experience. Her love life is either non-existent or in a shambles, her professional life is difficult at best, and her doubts about her calling are fairly usual.
I found this to be a fun novel with quite a bit of realism. I was angry at the things people would say and do to her, angry at the way she just took it as though pastor=doormat, proud of her when she really claimed her pastoral authority, sad when her circle of friends started to disintegrate, touched at the descriptions of some of the most sacred moments of being a pastor.
It was a pretty good book, in other words. :-)
ooooh. i want to read this. any chance i can get you to send this to me? i'll send you one in return. or i could buy you something pretty in scotland. yeah??
ReplyDeletealas, no...I got it from the library. sorry!
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