From the publisher: Dorothy Lynn Dunbar has everything she ever wanted: her family, her church, her community, and plans to marry the young pastor who took over her late father’s pulpit. Time spent in the woods, lifting her heart and voice in worship accompanied by her brother’s old guitar, makes her life complete . . . and yet she longs for something more.
Spending a few days in St. Louis with her sister’s family, Dorothy Lynn discovers a whole new way of life—movies, music, dancing; daring fashions and fancy cars. And a dynamic charismatic evangelist . . . who just happens to be a woman. When Dorothy Lynn is offered a chance to join Aimee Semple McPherson’s crusade team, she finds herself confronted with temptations she never dreamed of. Can Dorothy Lynn embrace all the Roaring Twenties has to offer without losing herself in the process?
_____
***There might be some SPOILERS in here so, proceed with that warning. ******
I had a hard time getting into this book, but some of my favorite books have been hard to start and then picked up. This one I just wasn't into.
The book switches back between 2010 and the 1920s. Dorothy is over 100 in 2010 and is about to have a birthday, whereas the Dorothy is the 1920s is about to turn 19. Dorothy makes a lot of foolish mistakes and I don't feel that the consequences that she had were real. Her relationship with Roland and the fact that she still seemed to love him at her old age made me uncomfortable. I realize that readers could feel that he was good for her since he offered her a different life and she went back to Brent, her fiancee, that he is who helped her really decide who she was. Dorothy was flighty and got to do all the things she wanted without any real consequence--and I think that's slightly unrealistic considering all that she did.
It was interesting to read about Aimee McPherson's crusade team, but the way she was portrayed did not make me a fan of her or her method of "saving souls" and sharing Jesus. Allison Pittman, it seemed also showed how it was just a bunch of show because Dorothy wasn't able to really connect with God and write music while she was on the road with the crusade.
I have not read the book, but for a historical look at how Aimee Semple McPherson REALLY ran her revival meetings have a look at this thesis paper
ReplyDeletehttps://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/8942/Wilson_Wendy_A_Danforth_August1974_MA.pdf?sequence=1
books to checkout
1.Blumhofer, Edith L. Aimee Semple McPherson: "Everybody’s Sister."
2. Epstein, Daniel Mark. Sister Aimee: "The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson .
3. Sutton, Matthew Avery. "Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America."
4. Raymond L Cox, "The Verdict is In," (is very useful on actual details about the 1926 kidnapping)