The Pastor's Wife

Title: THE PASTOR’S WIFE
Author: Jennifer AlLee
Publisher: Abingdon Press
February 2010
ISBN: 1-426-70225-9
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary women’s fiction

Maura Sullivan couldn’t handle being married to a pastor. Nick Shepherd was more into his congregation than he was her. They called, he was there. But when she needed him, he wasn’t. Now, six years later, Maura is back in the small town of Granger, Ohio, to meet the conditions of a will. In order to inherit a theatre, which Maura desperately wants, and for the church to inherit a sizeable inheritance, then Maura and Nick have to live together for six months.

Nick has never stopped loving Maura, and the church is hesitant to accept their living conditions until they are reminded that Maura and Nick are still married. But as Maura dives headlong into restoration of the theatre, Nick takes a hard look at himself and sees the mistakes he made that drove Maura away. Determined not to make the same mistake twice he goes out of his way to make time for her.

But having Nick married to the church is not the only issue that drove Maura to leave Nick. Is it possible for Maura to face some of the issues she had? And when Nick discovers the real reason she left, what will it take for him to forgive her?

THE PASTOR’S WIFE is a real look at what it is like, sometimes, to be married to a pastor. Life in the fishbowl, being a pastor’s wife is open to all kinds of criticism and trying to push you into a certain mold. When Maura didn’t fit the mold they were trying to push her into, instead of trying to find places she did fit, she turned bitter, and felt an outsider. This is something that most all pastors wives struggle with.

Maura and Nick are both realistic characters which I couldn’t help loving. The whole book was great, and drew me into the small town community of Granger, which I enjoyed visiting via the pages of this book. My biggest complaint about THE PASTOR’S WIFE is that the ending seemed rather rushed. $13.99. 213 pages.