Passing by Samaria

From the first page of Passign By Samaria I knew this book was a keeper, a moving, intense story that will stay with me a long time.

I wished I had the ability to really express how much I loved this book. It was beautifully written. It was so inspiring. It taught me or should I say, it reminded me of the true meaning of forgiveness. It was full of hope and faith and family. It showed the true strength of a people and what it means to turn the other cheek. Reading this book inspired me more than a year of Sunday's in church. It made me think. It made me proud. It made me want not only want to stop by Samaria, it made me want to stay awhile. Thanks, Sharon Ewell Rhodes for this gift of love and faith. It is indeed a story with "medicine for the heart and balm for the soul".

I loved Passing by Samaria. I found the book to becomparable to the the classic, "To Kill A Mockingbird." Thecharacters and the action are so intense I found my heart pounding half the time, and my eyes watering the other half of the time. Foster's use of imagery and dialogue represent a time in African American History most have forgotten about, and others are embarrassed to remember. I applaud Foster's ability to encourage forgiveness in her readers, and in looking forward to a day when we can all be brothers' and sisters' under one GOD.I look forward to future novels written by Ms. Foster. Because she has definitely earned a life-long fan and admirer in me.

Ms Foster's novel showed a great sense of time and place, but more importantly, though it touched on some very tough issues, a sense of hope and humanity as always underlying the conflict, both racial and romantic.I normally don't read romance novels, but to my surprise, I found it to be a lot more than a story one can easily pigeonhole or file under a one-size-fits-all rubric.This book isn't very long, yet it lays out and masterfully interweaves many different dramatic threads, which pull together to make the work ring true and resonate in one's mind and heart long after finishing the novel.Still, I can't say I'd take a chance on other books of this genre--I think I got lucky. I'll definitely re-read this one a few years from now. By then, hopefully, Ms Foster will have another book in the stores.

This book addressed a facet of the history of our great nation that is so heinous that I had trouble believing anyone could write about it and not have hate, resentment, and other vengeful thoughts bleed thru. It was a time when "man's inhumanity to man" was tolerated and even condoned in our country and our lives. It was a time of racial hatred and wearing white sheets over heads for disguise. It was a time of unholy acts by ungodly people. I wept for the pain portrayed. There was joy here too and I thank God for His presence in this writing. Sharon Ewell Foster, in her first book, covered this period of history in full honesty and with such grace and aplomb I was astonished. She used the storyline to show how bad things happen to good people and how if no one protests it could happen to any one of us too. She showed how love and forgiveness and restoration could take place within the all encompassing embrace of a Holy God who wants no person to fall short of His glory and redemption. She showed how in the basest of human tragedies God can bring His love to bear on lives and situations and people can come out whole, renewed and changed in mind and spirit. I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know. I am also requesting a sequel as the characters were so compelling to me that I want to know where they went and what they did after the conclusion of this story. Alena and James, Jonathan and Dinah, Aunt Patrice and Deac and even Pearl, not to mention Alena's family and the other people back home in Mississippi. Keep writing Sharon, as fast as you can. :-) Jenifer