Customer Reviews

The Pastor's Wife

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In her second novel, Jennifer AlLee explores a topic not often addressed: a pastor who puts his congregation's needs ahead of those of his wife. Nick and Maura marry young, excited at the prospects of their first church, but neither are prepared for the demands it will make on their relationship. A separation ensues. Now, six years later, Maura moves back to the small Ohio community when she inherits an old theater with the stipulation that she must live with her husband for six months while remodeling the theater. It's a dance of propriety as the two face the opinionated congregation and explore the plan God has for their future.

The story is tender and woven with grace. Jennifer raises many questions about the relationship of a pastor with his congregation and his family. Does God call a man or a couple? What roles are appropriate for the wife of a pastor? It gave me a new perspective in what it must be like to live the "fish bowl" life. A thought-provoking, but gentle book from a lovely author.

I really enjoyed The Pastor's Wife. It was a powerful story of healing and restoration, and of dealing with things the very things the heroine had tried to avoid. I totally understood her pain and found her inner dialog to be appropriate and believable. Without giving away any spoilers, there was one thing that kept it from being a five star book in my estimation. But if I tell you exactly what that is it will spoil the story. I can say it has to do with someone's response to news that I found to be a bit over-the-top to where it bugged me as opposed to inspiring me. Other than that issue I found this to be a very powerful and healing story. I even got a bit teary eyed when the head of the board at the church softened toward the heroine. The plot continually moved forward and had no slow spots. The tension kept building and in so many ways was a very beautiful portrayal of how love for your spouse is supposed to last a lifetime. Obviously, that is not always the case and sometimes for very valid reasons. The message in this story was excellent and I highly recommend it.

When Maura Sullivan married Nick Shepherd, a new pastor, she had no idea what she would be competing with. After being married only a few months and feeling far too neglected, Maura leaves Nick and the small Ohio town where she felt like she never quite fit in. Now, six years later, she has returned to the people and place she abandoned because her name and Nick's name are listed in a will. All she can think about is taking care of business and getting back out of town again, but God has other plans for Maura and Nick.

When I first read the description for this book I did not think I was going to like Maura because she abandoned her husband and his congregation. But, as I read the story and learned more about Maura, I was able to understand her pain and what she went through. The Pastor's Wife is a fairly short book and is easy to read, but it is filled with a lot of deep spiritual relevance. Healing and forgiveness are the main themes throughout this story and Maura and Nick both have a lot of healing to do and they both need to forgive each other. I was delighted with this book and really enjoyed watching the changes that went on, not just between Maura and Nick, but also with the townspeople and the congregation. There are many Godly lessons to be learned in this short and sweet story that I liked very much.

The book was well written and an easy read, but there were too many problems with the plot. The conditions of living together in the parsonage for 6 months in order to receive an inheritance was just not believable and set the stage for a predictable "easy reconciliation."

I also had a hard time believing that a woman would leave her new husband on such short notice, without a single conversation, and then neither the husband or wife would contact the other in any way for the next 6 years.

It was an entertaining read, but I spent much of the book thinking, "you've got to be kidding me."

Loved, loved, loved this book...and I'll tell you why. Jen shows how important communication really is. (And the biggest reasons why people get divorced really are sex, money, and communication.)

Married people can look at the same event so differently, and this book points that out beautifully. As a therapist who deals with couples who are contemplating separation or divorce, I could see how Jen's book could be such a ray of hope for them, especially if they know the Lord. God calls out to people, if they keep their hearts open to listening to him. Even insurmountable obstacles, from heavy inner secrets to heavy outward responsibilities, can be overcome.

One of my favorite passages Jen wrote from Maura's point of view. Maura's recalling how her husband had been a recipient of the "laying on of hands" that some churches do as a visible sign of approval and acceptance to a new minister. (My church does this when a new minister is ordained.) In the lives of most people, ordination is such a blessing, seen as a positive career step and even viewed by some as a watershed moment. But for Maura...so not the case. Instead of seeing the hands as bestowing blessing, she saw them as reaching out and pulling him away from her. Wouldn't Nick have been surprised to know that?

Which leads to my conclusion. Communication is key for couples at all stages in their marriage. Keeping secrets, harboring grudges, and letting things "slide" unattended doesn't do anyone any favors. In fact, it only instills bitterness in the secret-keeper and grudge-holder. Jennifer shows how healing true, unadulterated communication can be.

Marriage is tough. Being married and being in the ministry can be even tougher. I'd recommend this book to all couples, but especially those in the ministry who have to face additional challenges unique to them. Pastors, while put on pedestals by congregation members, face the same troubles everyone does. Thanks for shedding light on these situations, Jen.

Good story. Nice, easy, casual, clean read. Characters are well-rounded and her writing style is good. Got this one as a free Kindle book, but I'm going to check out her other books.

The book begins well with characters who are thrown into an uncomfortable, although implausible, situation. The two protagonists are likeable, and the plot is set up nicely. Themes like freely given forgiveness and finding one's own gifts are dealt with well.

However, the "secret" is easily discerned almost immediately, and that means the rest of the book is highly predictable. In fact, the only part I did not find extremely predictable made me mad. The husband blamed the wife for not repeatedly bludgeoning him over the head to get him to hear her. That smacked to me of another rendition of the wife always being wrong.

There were thoughtful parts of the book to be sure. Just not enough for the book to get more than two stars.

This book is a quick, simple read. The characters never really came to life for me and I found it entirely too predictable and simple.

For those that know me and my wife please note, "she did not write this novel." Yes, she is an author but this wasn't one of her stories, although I hope she enjoys reading it.

The story opens with a very implausible situation, the reading of a will and the requirement in the will that a couple who has been separated for six years (but not divorced) move back in together so that they can each receive a their portion of this inheritance. Now, while I say implausible, you know what, strangers things have happened in our culture and the more I thought about it the more I thought, I know people who would do something just like this.

So, here is the main gist, Maura (the Pastor's wife) left her husband Nick within months after he took his first pastorate in a small town in Ohio. The reason, well he appeared more married and committed to his congregation than he did to his wife. This was displayed in the way that he was always leaving to met other peoples needs and not attending to his own wife's needs.

I certainly can understand and relate to this problem. I spent years as a volunteer Police Chaplain and was called out at all times of the night and on holidays and was always leaving my family somewhat up in the air. If you aren't careful they have a good reason to start to feel neglected.

Maura felt neglected, and when a very serious personal matter came about her husband wasn't there for her. So, she left him. But they never divorced. She went back to California to live and work with her father in their family business. Nick stayed in Ohio and continued to pastor.

One of Nick's congregation dies and leaves him a gift in her will. She also leaves Maura a gift in the will. The gifts are fairly significant. For Maura, the gift is the unencumbered deed to an old Theatre that was a great source of delight to the small community in it's prime, but it needs to be fixed up and re-opened. The gift is something that Maura desires because she has a flair for drama and wants to see the Theatre remodeled.

For Nick the inheritance is a gift to his church that will allow him to do some of the ministry items that he has been unable to do because of finances.

The problem, Miss Hattie made a provision in the will that they couldn't receive their gifts unless Maura moved back into the parsonage to live with Nick for a minimum of six months. Scandalous! Well, not really, they are husband and wife. So, was Miss Hattie trying to re-unite them? Well, of course.

The rest of the book is predictable, but still well written and fun to read. I enjoyed getting to know Maura and Nick and coming to understand their love for each other but their misunderstanding of each other.

I believe that the lessons they both learn are well thought out and well presented. They are Biblical in nature as well as touching on true emotional needs and problems that real people face.

So, while the story is predictable it is still a very fun read and will give you some good life issues to think through and apply to your own life and relationships.

Enjoy!

The premise of this story is very interesting, and new to me in the world of Christian fiction. I have never read a novel that focused solely on a pastor of a church and how that role truly affects his family. However, I found myself wishing for more by the time I finished it, particularly more emotion between Nick and Maura. Perhaps if the book had been a little longer, I doubt this would've even been an issue for me.