Customer Reviews

How Strong Women Pray

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How Strong Women Pray by Bonnie St. John is a powerfully written devotional/memoir. St. John had her foot amputated when she was four, was sexually abused from her preschool years until almost her teens by her stepfather, medaled in the Paralympics in skiing, and worked in the White House. Episodes in her life are bracketed by short essays by famous strong women about how they use prayer in their lives. Each woman uses prayer a little differently: some talk to God all day as a friend, others use more formulaic prayer, some meditate and listen for God there. But every woman listens to God in her own way and feels him moving in her life. Amy Grant, Edie Falco, and Maya Angelou each speak of the power of God. St. John's story is alternately heartbreaking and uplifting, and her search for faith speaks to the heart. The chapters are short and easy to read. While other reviews mention to St. John as a name-dropper, that's an unfair label. Each story tells of how this woman fought to rise above her circumstances and ultimately came to the realization that she couldn't do it alone. While she may have met famous people along the way, none of them filled the God shaped hole in her heart. This book speaks to the power of God and the strength women draw from him.

Bonnie St. John's book, How Strong Women Pray epitomizes the focus of the aforementioned scripture. With skill, care and candor Ms. St. John cleverly entwines her life experiences with that of others to show the importance and results of prayer in their lives.

Through the uniquely written treatise readers are offered a view into the private lives of twenty-seven women. Each is viewed as strong in their own right. All are connected by duo threads of commonality; their dependence upon prayer and faith to acknowledge that they are not in control of their destinies. Delightfully absent from this work is the impression of a regime of rigidity and uniformity to be entered into. Instead, you will see the simplicity and fervor in which each approaches prayer and are divinely ministered to.

Those who feel that the presence of high profile names, the mention of positions Ms. St. John has held and her academic and Olympic accomplishments are self-serving will not absorb the full thrust of the work. They will miss the fact that in spite of her high visibility and accomplishments, she has made a choice. Through the choice to be vulnerable, Ms. St. John speaks to the plight of many with disabilities. Without reserve she is reaching out to those who are merely surviving rather than seeking to overcome the trauma of sexual childhood abuse or other obstacles that is preventing them from reaching full potential.


Reviewer/Dr. Linda Beed
On Assignment Reviews

This book is so sweet and yet nourishing at the same time. You'd want to read it during your devotion time and meditate on all the nuggets. It's so good! Loved it! Bonnie St. John, fine job!

Pam Perry
Chocolate Pages Reviews

Bonnie St. John has an impressive resume. Her list of accomplishments includes Paralympic Silver Medalist, one-legged Olympic ski champion, magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University, Rhodes Scholar, White House official, author, motivational speaker. What one may not expect to learn is that such an accomplished woman was also a victim of sexual abuse for several years of her childhood. While the loss of her leg drove her to succeed, the scars from childhood victimization threatened to destroy her. St. John realized that she had a gift for inspiring others with her story. As she set out to become a motivational speaker and author, she learned the power of prayer. However, the pain of facing her past and finding healing drove her closer to God and deepened her prayer life. St. John has shared her story with thousands of men and women, but many do not understand the strength she receives from spending time in prayer every morning. How Strong Women Pray was born from her desire to share the power of prayer, not only in her own life, but in the lives of twenty-seven other strong women from around the United States.

Most of the women who volunteered their prayer testimonies for How Strong Women Pray are not considered "religious" or "spiritual." To the casual observer, it would appear that these women have achieved their status by sheer will-power, hard work, and luck. St. John's goal with this project is to show that some of the most well-known and respected women in music, television, radio, politics, publishing, education, and athletics make prayer a priority in their lives. In addition to St. John, the following women contributed their stories: Maya Angelou, Barbara Bush, Nadia Comaneci, Delilah, Edie Falco, Vonetta Flowers, Kathie Lee Gifford, Amy Grant, Dorothy Height, Barbara and Kathy Ireland, Immaculee Ilibagiza, Marilyn McCoo, Janet Parshall, Libby Pataki, Susan Taylor, Christine Todd Whitman, and Heather Whitestone.

I enjoyed the format of this book. Each woman's testimony serves as one chapter. Then, between each testimony, Bonnie St. John tells a little more of her journey to a life of prayer. St. John's chapters are the glue holding the whole project together. St. John has lived such an extraordinary life she can relate to something in each woman's testimony, from motherhood to serving in Washington, D.C. Because such a wide variety of women (and, indirectly, denominations and doctrines) are featured, I think every kind of woman could find something interesting in this book.

The main reason I enjoyed reading How Strong Women Pray is I like to read about real people. The actual content regarding prayer, however, left much to be desired. With the exception of a few women, I did not appreciate much of what they had to say about prayer and the role it plays in their lives. Most of the women featured talked about prayer as more of a focusing exercise, a time for meditation, centering, something to do to quiet and empty the mind. Prayer is used more like a tool to help them be who they want to be. Many of the women spoke of "knowing" something after spending time in prayer, and did so without any reference to Scripture. The worst example of this is St. John's own account that she knew God was telling her that she could not stay married to her husband. Furthermore, when the word "God" is used I am left wondering which "God" the writer is talking about. A few women mention Jesus, use Scripture, and refer to prayer as a way of talking directly God. Some women even discussed the importance of setting aside time to pray with their spouses, and the difference prayer made in their marriages. While there are some decent testimonies, most of them are rather mystical and disjointed, trying to say something about prayer but not really saying anything about biblical prayer.

The goal of How Strong Women Pray is to share how prayer has impacted strong women, with prayer being defined as loosely as possible. If the reader goes in with those expectations, just wanting to enjoy a handful of human-interest stories, then she will not be disappointed. However, I would not recommend this book because it does not fall completely in line with what the Bible teaches regarding prayer.

Bonnie St. John is a contributor as well as editor of How Strong Women Pray published by Faith Works, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group. The book consists of first person essays by women of renown and some maybe unknown to readers. It tells of the hills and valleys of their lives, pivotal moments that defined their faith and spirituality and how they overcame the odds against them.

In a series of pieces woven throughout the book, St. John deftly writes what amounts to a memoir. St. John was the first African American woman to take a medal in the Olympics. She is now a motivational speaker and writer. To get to this point, she went through insurmountable odds; sexual abuse, having her leg amputated at an early age and her struggles with maintaining her faith and spirituality in the world of business.

Vonetta Flowers was apart of the 2002 gold medal winning women's bobsled team. Her story of a black girl from Alabama transitioning from track and field to the predominately white winter sport of bobsledding is indeed an interesting one, but her son's medical problems and her journey to faith is her most self-affirming story. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., formerly of the Grammy winning group, The Fifth Dimension have been married for over 35 years but it was their faith and Marilyn's unfailing belief that helped Billy through a crisis that could have ended their marriage. Kathie Lee Gifford, Johnetta B. Cole, Kathie Ireland, Susan L. Taylor, and singer Amy Grant all have stories of trials, tribulations and remarkable acts of redemption that sustained their prayer lives.

There is a cross section of women from varying professions, careers and celebrity life. This book is a great volume to have as one can read stories at will and rejoice with the author of each story. This is an ideal gift for a sister friend that might need a little uplifting and reaffirmation of faith.

Dera R. Williams
APOOO BookClub

I found Bonnie St. John's book "How Strong Women Pray" encouraging. So many times as busy women (so many demands, so little time) we beat ourselves up when we don't do everything perfectly including the amount of time we take to pray. Unfortunately, that leads us to abandon prayer altogether at times. I enjoyed the many stories of women who despite it all, found ways to fit prayer in and recognized its power as a result. St. John brilliantly weaves her own life story within the fabric of the book - giving the reader an opportunity to witness her growth as a result of embracing God and prayer for herself. From simple, short prayers to more elaborate prayers, St. John empowers us with the knowledge that both are sufficient.

A wonderfully written work on the benefits of prayer. Bonnie St. John's book details her journey towards a closer relationship with her Creator interwoven with pivotal times of other women and their prayer lives. I especially enjoyed that St. John included women from all areas of life, some well known and others who were not. It only shows that all women regardless of their status in life who put God first reap His benefits. Regardless of the reader's current prayer life, this book motivates the reader to desire a more intense relationship and a closer fellowship with God.

This a great book. A remarkable aspect of this book is that God shares with each reader how to live and find your life's purpose through prayer and faith. The women highlighted in this book are very inspirational people who attest to Matthew 19:26,"with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible". No matter what situations women are facing, looking back at the history of prayer, women have been the strongest believers.

Bonnie St John's early life would have turned some people into lifelong victims or bitter and distrustful people. Bonnie took the high road and overcame remarkable obstacles to live an interesting and spiritual prayer-filled life. Her courage and determination to live a full, healthy and happy life is inspirational to all of us, and her willingness to share her history with us, is admirable. Her journey continues and her book chronicles her experiences as well as those of famous women who rely on prayer to nourish them. This peek into the lives of these remarkable women is a delight and truly uplifting.



This is a wonderful book and highly recommended.

How Strong Women Pray is a gathering of personal insights from a variety of women with interesting backgrounds and experiences. Bonnie's powerful story is shared throughout the book - I really liked the way the book was presented. Everyone is certain to find at least a few women they can relate to and be encouraged by. I'm glad I took the time to read this book.