Today’s post from author Sarah Healy | @SarahEHealy
Sarah Healy
I’m fairly certain that my book confuses people. What is this? I imagine them thinking as they pick it up, running their fingers over the cover. What is this strange book with a question mark in the title? They might assume that it’s faith fiction, then read a few pages and realize that it’s not—not in any conventional sense at least. It’s funny and irreverent, does that mean it’s a satire? Perhaps it’s women’s fiction, since it deals with relationships and family.
In the simplest terms, CAN I GET AN AMEN? is a story about love— the limitations we put on it, the mistakes we make despite it. The heroine, Ellen Carlisle, loses her job and her husband, and has to move back home with her evangelical Christian parents, though she doesn’t share their brand of faith. Oh, you might think, it’s another book about hokey, misguided religious-types who shove their faith down everyone’s throats. It’s not that either. Not in the end.
Let me first be candid and tell you that I, like Ellen, grew up in a very religious household. And I, like Ellen, do not currently practice any form of organized religion. However, this book was not written to deride or promote Christianity, but to present it, honestly and fairly, and in a way I haven’t often seen it done before.
Mainstream fiction tends to represent faith as a flaw or a weakness. In Christian fiction, it seems to always be the beacon by which the right and just path is lit. I don’t think that either characterization is necessarily accurate. Faith—how and if and why we have it—is an expression of our humanity. And it’s the humanity of Ellen and her family that I wanted to convey. Through the course of the narrative, they hurt each other and they make mistakes and they fall down and get back up, and ultimately, they love each other.
So what is this book? How do I categorize it? To be honest, I don’t really know. But the more I hear from readers, the less that concerns me. Enough of you have told me that you saw your mother or your sister or yourself in it. Enough of you have said that even though you grew up a Catholic or an Atheist or a Jew, you related to it. Enough of you have told me that you love it. And it’s in love that I have faith.
We’re giving away two copies of Sarah’s novel CAN I GET AN AMEN? (US and Canada residents only) Just leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered to win.
When the last thing you want is the one thing you need, you’ve got to have a little faith….Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemployed, and living with her right-wing, born-again Christian parents in her suburban New Jersey hometown. There the schools are private, the past is public, and blessings come in lump sums.
About Ariel Lawhon
Ariel Lawhon is the co-founder of She Reads, novelist, blogger, storyteller, and life-long reader. She lives in Texas with her husband and four young sons (aka The Wild Rumpus). Ariel believes that Story is the shortest distance to the human heart.
I would love a copy of this book. I am intrigued by the concept.
Highly interested in this read!
Looks like a good book.
Would love to win a copy of this book! I have a feeling I would devour this book in a few big gulps:)
i would love to read this novel…it sounds differen, yet great, Thank you for sharing, Sarah and the chance to win your novel
Thank you for sharing and for the opportunity to win a copy of your book!
I’d love to win – sounds like a great read!
Hmmm… I’d like to read this book for myself to see just where you are going with it all…
Everyone does need to find their own faith…
Thanks for giving us an opportunity to read your book.
Susan G.
The little blurb left me hanging…..sounds like a good read!!!
I’d buy this on the basis of the cover alone!
You caught me at “Amen” on the title. Sometimes we need to get a jolt of reality in order to re-examine our beliefs and how it impacts our life. This main character sounds fascinating and her conflict sounds very frustating. I’d love to read this book!
Sounds like a very interesting book. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Sounds great. Sounds somewhat similar to “Mennonite in a Black Dress” where a former Mennonite moves home with her family as an adult, only it’s nonfiction.
really interested in reading this book.
Thank you for giving your intro to the story “Can I Get an Amen?” The story already intrigues me!
Sure, you can. Amen! LOL
Seriously, the book sounds thought provoking and intriguing. I’d love to win a copy!
Looks like a great book!
Intriguing- sounds like a good dose of the bare bones, honest, realistic struggles in life!
thanks for the chance to read this story
This book sounds fascinating! Thanks for the chance to win!!
I would love to be able to win 2 copies of the books, “Can I get an Amen”.
Thank You for the opportunity to do so.
Wow, this sounds like an awesome book.