Songbird: My Review

I have told you I like Lisa Samson's writing, haven't I? Last weekend was horribly cold and as I often do on days of inclement weather, I took my five year old to the library to play.  Before we hit the children's room, I grabbed Songbird by Lisa Samson and I've been enjoying it all week.  Back in November, I reviewed her book The Church Ladies.  Songbird is about one of those minister's wives, Myrtle Charmaine Hopewell.  Myrtle, who starts calling herself Charmaine shortly after her single mother leaves her when she is eleven years old.  Charmaine becomes the foster child of a favorite Sunday School teacher and life is good for a while, until the foster mother dies and she is thrown into "the system".  Charmaine is blessed with a  beautiful singing voice and begins making a living as a lounge singer.  She happens into a revival one night and starts singing for a church, where she meets and marries a traveling evangelist.  We follow Charmaine and her husband through the early years of marriage, a singing career, the televangelist scandals of the 1980's and finally, a measure of peace despite heartache.

Mental illness is a major part of the story and it explores it from the viewpoint of Charmaine as well as from the viewpoint of those who believe mental illness is a symptom of the lack of God in life, rather than a genuine illness.  

Songbird is Christian fiction.  It explores Charmaine's experience of God through the love of her foster mother, the love of her husband, as well as through the pain of her depression and the losses in her life.  I wouldn't call it preachy and it certainly isn't one of those books that implies that if you have enough faith, then everything will be alright.  I definitely recommend it.

Purchase from Amazon (and give me a small commission)Songbird