A Journey to Hell and Back

This book takes you thru the life of a woman who has truly been to hell and back and has survived to tell the story. She is very explicit that it was only the power of God that saved her and continues to sustain her. If you think have been thru hell, read this book because it is a survivor's kit to salvation!!!!!!!

This awe inspiring book was meant to motivate and encourage the readers to seek new vision for their life. This book has a accomplished its mission. It's hard to walk away from this book feeling discouraged or disappointed. The characters are real and vividly presented. There are characters who you will love and others you will hate. The book is a story of miracles. Yet there is something deeper than the interesting details of the book. Within each page there is a special message for the reader. The book has an easy flow. However, the depth of the book provokes you to read the book over and over again as you face new trials in your life. The book demands a second edition.

This book was a refreshing change from the books that our book club normally reads. I have always viewed myself as a good mother, but have reconsidered this role after reading this book. This book has taught me what unconditional love means. I am now practicing these principles with my children. Any mother who believes she has reached the end of her rope with her child needs to read this book. You will come away with the ability to hold on until the change comes. The mother in this book held on during days that were dark and appeared hopeless. Charlotte may have been to hell and back but it seems her mother went at least 7 times on her shoulders.

I enjoyed the book. It makes a great book for a comparative literature study with Dante's Inferno. I found my self wanting to help the main character, Charlotte. The other people were so real. Some you loved and some you hated. I found myself in this book. It reminded me of some of the things that I have been through. It motivated me to move on.

Charlotte Russell Johnson shared her story in a way that was simultaneously provocative and reaffirming! She carried her readers on a well-orchestrated journey with many interweaves of truisms that concern this earthly existence. It is difficult to imagine a person's ability to come away from "A Journey to Hell and Back" without asking the existential question - "What is the meaning of Life?" Surely, Ms. Johnson caused this reader to reexamine the question, and to reckon with the power of the human will to survive. However, Ms. Johnson moved a step beyond survival. She has PREVAILED!! She prevailed beyond her overwhelming yearn for acceptance that this reader sensed throughout her story. Charlotte Russell Johnson's story is like a nightmare. It reminds this reader of a child's sudden awakening from a nightmare, and the child finds that his mother is there, saying all those appropriate things, like "it is going to be okay, I am here, hold my hand". And when Ms. Johnson awoke from her nightmare, she found God there, and realized that He was there all the time. He was reassuring to her that she would be okay and that she is His child, and thereby, meeting the greatest acceptance of all. Yes, Charlotte Johnson has been to hell. However, more importantly, she came back. Just as the great Shirley Caesar frequently says, "if there is a way in, then there is a way out." If you are not sure, just think about Calvary.Best Wishes Charlotte,James