The Woman Who Outran the Devil

Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (1/09) "The Woman Who Outran the Devil: The Extraordinary Story of One Woman's Search for Real Love" is an autobiographical account of the author, Shirley Baskett's life. Baskett currently resides in Melbourne, Australia with her husband Peter, and was ordained in 1998 as a minister in the Assemblies of God. Her path to ministry was not the usual one that people in her profession normally follow. In fact, if you took a look at her life when she was younger, never in a million years would you have seen the call to ministry in her future. Although her mother had been Christian, her father had rejected the beliefs when Baskett was a girl. Her mother had emotional issues, and Baskett had a brother who was autistic and required most of the family's attention. She even states that, "My mother often commented that it was fortunate that I was an independent baby as she had little time to coddle me. She could provide the mere basics for survival but she was preoccupied with trying to raise my increasingly difficult brother." (p.14) When she was older, looking for a purpose in life, Baskett attended Bible College. However, after graduating she slipped into a world of sex and drinking that spiraled out of control. In one moment, while at rock bottom and thinking about committing suicide, Baskett called out to God and her prayers were answered. She began the process of changing her life path for the better. The book is not a lengthy one, and although somewhat choppy at times, the author still succeeds in getting her story out there and her point across. I think that "The Woman Who Outran the Devil" could be inspirational to many to show people that no matter how bad life can be, no matter how your family life was while you were growing up, no matter how far gone you feel that you are, there is still hope. It takes a lot of courage to share these intimate aspects of one's life, and I commend Baskett for putting everything out there on the table. I found Baskett's experiences to be very interesting and enjoyed following her transformation into the person that she is today.