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16th out of 42 books
—
24 voters
Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir
by
Donna Johnson (Goodreads Author)
Donna Johnson's remarkable story of being raised under the biggest gospel tent in the world, by David Terrell, one of the most famous evangelical ministers of the 1960s and 70s. Holy Ghost Girl is a compassionate, humorous exploration of faith, betrayal, and coming of age on the sawdust trail.
She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent...more
She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
October 13th 2011
by Gotham
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Really great. I have a particular fascination with tent-revivalists, dating back to my life in the southeastern US long ago. Actually, before that. I can't imagine how hard it was for Donna to write about her young life with these people, including a mother who would be locked up as an abuser in modern times. A beautiful compelling memoir.
Strange book of a life hard to relate to in some ways, but understandable in other ways. I didn't know how to feel once the book was over, but it's a four star because I had a hard time putting it down...
^This was my response immediately after finishing the book. The more time I have had to reflect on it, I found that I could relate in many ways to the feelings and confusions of the past. I was able to meet the author a few weeks after reading the book and was stunned by her grace and forgivenes...more
^This was my response immediately after finishing the book. The more time I have had to reflect on it, I found that I could relate in many ways to the feelings and confusions of the past. I was able to meet the author a few weeks after reading the book and was stunned by her grace and forgivenes...more
"Donna, I don't know if you're going to the funeral, but I hear Daddy is gonna try to raise Randall from the dead. Call me."
That's the opening line of Holy Ghost Girl, as memorable a first line as any I have seen. Donna Johnson's memoir of a childhood spent on the "sawdust trail," the tent revival circuit, brilliantly fulfills the promise of its opener: it is fascinating, heartbreaking, and in the end, as enigmatic as the charismatic preacher who dominated Johnson's girlhood. Johnson tells it li...more
That's the opening line of Holy Ghost Girl, as memorable a first line as any I have seen. Donna Johnson's memoir of a childhood spent on the "sawdust trail," the tent revival circuit, brilliantly fulfills the promise of its opener: it is fascinating, heartbreaking, and in the end, as enigmatic as the charismatic preacher who dominated Johnson's girlhood. Johnson tells it li...more
Warning: This is a biased review. Not only do I know and really like Donna Johnson, I also worship with her in the pews of an Episcopalian church. I have had lengthy discussions with her over the years on the nature of resilient faith. I am unable to separate “Donna the author” from “Donna, whom I’ve known for more than 10 years.” You’ve been warned.
Everyone you know has a story that will make you laugh. And, they all have a story that will make you weep. On days when crisis and drama wash over...more
Everyone you know has a story that will make you laugh. And, they all have a story that will make you weep. On days when crisis and drama wash over...more
14 likes · like · see review
I love memoirs, especially ones based on a child’s experience, written by the child turned adult. The reason for this is because I often wonder when things happen and adults are talking and writing about their experiences, what happens to the child? What is he/she thinking? How is she/he coping? Where’s her/his voice?
Donna Johnson’s book, titled “The Holy Ghost Girl” gives a window to those who always wonder what happens at big tent revivals and healing services. Most importantly, it sheds light...more
Donna Johnson’s book, titled “The Holy Ghost Girl” gives a window to those who always wonder what happens at big tent revivals and healing services. Most importantly, it sheds light...more
Apr 16, 2013
Shara Faskowitz
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People interest in memoir, biography, religion, coming of age stories
I found this to be a beautifully written and absorbing book about the author's childhood growing up on the Sawdust Trail with the last of the great tent revival evangelical preachers, David Terrell. Terrell was (and is: he's still preaching, apparently) clearly charismatic. Whether one sees him as prophet or huckster (or both), he's a fascinating complex character. The author saw him as a father figure and offers a lot of insight into the reality of their life versus how it likely appeared to Te...more
I have to admit that I had some personal investment in reading this book and my review will be equally personal. I grew up hearing stories of the Prophet/charlatan David Terrell: horror stories from my mom and hero stories from my grandma. My grandmother was one of the infamous Terrellites mentioned in the book, who would haul my mom to his tent revivals and eventually to his Texas headquarters. So many of the themes that permeate the book also permeate the lives of my family, secret lives, para...more
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This book is a recounting of a childhood which is blissfully alien to most of us, the perspective of a child raised in the family of itinerant freelance Pentecostal preachers. Here are the tent revivals which have largely disappeared from the American spiritual landscape.
Ms. Johnson shows her family in all its glory and all its infamy. There is the bravery ministering to mixed race groups of congregants in the South during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, including very real encounters w...more
Ms. Johnson shows her family in all its glory and all its infamy. There is the bravery ministering to mixed race groups of congregants in the South during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, including very real encounters w...more
This book is a really incredible memoir into the life of a traveling tent revival told through the eyes of a young child. The things she sees, her experiences growing up, and the abandonment she experiences when her mother is basically the preacher's piece on the side. I really enjoyed this book because not only could I believe that this is what it's really like for these people, but specifically in these times. It begins in 1960 and continues over two decades and to be quite honest- for me it r...more
I tend to suspect a memoir will be especially interesting when it starts out with the author receiving a voicemail from her sister which says, "Donna, I don't know if you're coming to the funeral, but I heard Daddy's gonna try to raise Randall from the dead. Call me."
Donna and her younger brother grew up in the inner circle of a Holy Roller tribe, a large group of Pentecostals who traveled the country putting on huge tent revivals (upwards of 3000 attendees at each service). Their minister, Brot...more
Donna and her younger brother grew up in the inner circle of a Holy Roller tribe, a large group of Pentecostals who traveled the country putting on huge tent revivals (upwards of 3000 attendees at each service). Their minister, Brot...more
This is a pretty interesting memoir; if you want to know more about the revival lifestyle without actually participating, this holds the insights that may otherwise be tough to pin down. Great context here.
There are enough details that you can feel as if you're almost there, which, great as it is, was kind of weird to me since, as a memoir, it is being told from the author's perspective and focusing on the ages 3-7 for a good part of it. I kept on thinking, how could you possibly remember that...more
There are enough details that you can feel as if you're almost there, which, great as it is, was kind of weird to me since, as a memoir, it is being told from the author's perspective and focusing on the ages 3-7 for a good part of it. I kept on thinking, how could you possibly remember that...more
This is a fascinating look inside the world of pentecostal tent revivals. I listened to the audio and was almost ready to quit before the end of the first part because I got really tired of being "preached at" by the narrator. Probably on the printed page it wouldn't have been so bad but that voice with the southern drawl shouting over and over "In the name of JEE-sus" got really annoying. Luckily I persevered because the story was really very interesting. The author, her mother and brother live...more
This book so enthralled me, it left me sleepless. I just finished reading this book and was so upset about what David Terrell did and how this woman grew up I had to pray and pray. Every churchgoer should read this type of book. In it you will find characteristics of a cult leader (i.e., David Terrell). You will find things every christian should look for in their church leader. If you see these characteristics manifest, you know you are in a cult and you should run like the wind. I was raised i...more
I finished this book about two weeks ago and I've been thinking about it ever since. Granted, I have a fascination with the "sawdust trail" and I love to talk to people about their experiences with tent revivals in the South during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. So this book was a natural for me. Donna Johnson was three years old and her younger brother was only one when her mother joined the revival ministry of David Terrell (who is still conducting revivals) as their organist. Donna stayed with...more
"Holy Ghost Girl" easily transported me to the days when tent revivals were a part of my summers during the seventies. In those days tent revivals were as much a part of my summer as playing baseball or picnics. As a young girl I remember the excitement that swirled around those meetings and how I felt sitting in those ginormous tents watching as someone might become slayed in the spirit or start speaking in tongues.It all seemed very exciting in a weird sort of way, and in this memoir the autho...more
why in the hell is this getting such great reviews? it's not a bad book, but it is far from a great book. it is a memoir written by a woman whose family followed the revivalist faith healing preacher david terrell when she was a child. in fact, johnson's mother became terrell's "second wife". they were never actually married because terrell felt that divorcing his first wife would undermine his position as a holy man. terrell fathered three daughters with johnson's mother, & although the boo...more
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5 out of 5 from me! I couldn’t have said it any better about this book than what the Publisher has said about this book, as they are exactly right on the mark about this book, but this is an actual memoir that goes into much greater detail, of course, than you can dare to imagine. Day by day, revival after revival, the people pour in looking for some kind of hope for Jesus Christ to perform a miracle in their lives. In some places of this book I was in stitches, and in others, it was so sad. For...more
Excellent! Definitely a fun book, if a bit freaky. Now, there’s a word I’ve never used before in a book review!
Donna Johnson tells the story of a little girl growing up on the “sawdust trail” of traveling tent missionary David Terrell. Yes, that David Terrell. Welcome to the world of public miracles, undercover infidelity and cognitive dissonance. On a grand scale. While it’s true the story is told through the wide eyes of a child, you may turn the final page still wondering if this wayward, cha...more
Donna Johnson tells the story of a little girl growing up on the “sawdust trail” of traveling tent missionary David Terrell. Yes, that David Terrell. Welcome to the world of public miracles, undercover infidelity and cognitive dissonance. On a grand scale. While it’s true the story is told through the wide eyes of a child, you may turn the final page still wondering if this wayward, cha...more
1 like · like · see review
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I really enjoyed this book. Contrary to Growing up Amish and Faith and Betrayal this book was written without glaring bias and degrading tones. The Holy Roller culture is something I have very limited experience with. I went to one "hell fire and brimstone" church service while in basic training. I was absolutely befuddled at how people had the desire to subject themselves to a service that had its message based in fear. It was very foreign compared to the love and support I felt when going to m...more
“Holy Ghost Girl” by Donna M. Johnson, published by Gotham Books.
Category – Memoir
Although tent revivals are still held they had their hay day in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Around 1960 and little know preacher by the name of Brother Terrell started on the circuit. He had a modest following and it was not unusual after a revival that the company would just make expenses or even be in the hole.
Donna Johnson’s mother, Carolyn, became infatuated with David Terrell and joined the group as an organist. D...more
Category – Memoir
Although tent revivals are still held they had their hay day in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Around 1960 and little know preacher by the name of Brother Terrell started on the circuit. He had a modest following and it was not unusual after a revival that the company would just make expenses or even be in the hole.
Donna Johnson’s mother, Carolyn, became infatuated with David Terrell and joined the group as an organist. D...more
Donna Johnson's mother joined Brother David Terrell's tent revival circuit as an organist in the early 1960's and Donna and her brother Gary spent most of their childhood in this world, traveling the South and hearing the Gospel every night. This is a fascinating look at that world, especially as seen through the eyes of a five year old. When Carolyn Johnson becomes Brother Terrell's lover, as well, despite his having a wife and children, the picture becomes even more complicated. The endless se...more
Memoirs, undertaken in the right frame of mind, are always brave books. As a graduate student working my way toward an MFA in nonfiction, I recognize and honor Johnson's forthrightness in writing this particular memoir; it isn't easy to write a book about a religious man, particularly a religious man who happens to be a father-figure and/or a close family friend, and perhaps most especially, a man who has been tried in the court of public opinion and found wanting. In writing this book, Johnson...more
This book was ok as it explored an era of the Big tent revival movement. I don't know much about this era as I remember a few tent revivals that happened when I was around 5 or 6. My problem with this book was that the first half was stuff that came really early in the author's life. I felt like she may have had some fuzzy memories. I also feel that she glossed over areas that I would have seen more depth about. It is an easy read where one can read in a few hours.
The author's POV is maybe not...more
The author's POV is maybe not...more
As an ex-fundamentalist (but still a Christian), I was intrigued by this memoir from a girl who grew up with a major traveling evangelist of the 50's and 60's, David Terrell, the sort of old-time foot-stomping Pentecostal revivalist crossing the back roads of the South that has launched a thousand stereotypical portrayals. Johnson's mother, a talented pianist, sold everything she owned and packed up her children (Johnson and her brother) to join Terrell's nomadic crusade, and this sets in motio...more
Memoirs can be many things: a record of memories, an autobiography, a conciliatory gesture, a chance at revenge, a confession or a combination of any/all. Good memoirs allow the reader to “take on” the life of the author in an intimate way and this present addition to the genre will be listed in the “very good” section. Whether the reader is religious, agnostic, atheist, socially conscious or just curious about learning of “a different life,” this book will supply plenteous grist for thought, d...more
I devoured this book. I was disappointed when it was over. What happened? Tell me your story now, as an adult. But Johnson doesn't. I want a Part II.
My heart broke often reading her story. To me, it is the story of every child who grows up under the delusion of the adults in their life, adults living on the edge, justifying their theology and beliefs that are not "rooted and grounded in love", but something greater to the adults than the love that comes so naturally from parent to child...the lo...more
My heart broke often reading her story. To me, it is the story of every child who grows up under the delusion of the adults in their life, adults living on the edge, justifying their theology and beliefs that are not "rooted and grounded in love", but something greater to the adults than the love that comes so naturally from parent to child...the lo...more
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I hesitate to put this under the spirituality/religion heading because the author doesn't take a stance on this, she just means for this to be a memoir. Most of the time it seems she doesn't know what to make of her "stepfather" David Terrell, the charismatic leader of a revival church. She watched him heal people; any doubt of it was revoked by two things in her early adulthood: she met a mother who had a deaf son who was healed when the mother brought him to Terrell's revival and he was touche...more
As I've mentioned before, I'm attracted to stories about faith, and how people gain and lose it. This could have been a very sensationalistic book. It's the memoir of one of the children of tent evangelist and Pentecostal Holiness preacher David Terrell. Terrell apparently took upon himself the polygamous prerogatives of the Old Testament figures, as he wandered further and further from a recognizable Christianity. But the book, since it is told mostly from a child's point of view, with limited...more
I picked this title because it seemed intriguing, and then I read the book when I should have been doing chores, tidying, making phone calls. It absorbed all my interest. Johnson lived a 'jerk around 'childhood. Her mother needed a mission or a calling, it seemed, at least in the beginning. She was the daughter of an Assemblies of God pastor, so the religious life was a reasonable choice, but hard for a woman of her time. But whether she was called by God or tempted by the flesh, she pulled her...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| what do you think about David Terell | 1 | 18 | Dec 02, 2011 12:55pm | |
| Starting a discussion group | 4 | 17 | Nov 29, 2011 10:24am | |
| i dont like ghost it scary! | 1 | 11 | Oct 27, 2011 01:04pm |
Donna M. Johnson grew up calling the once hugely popular tent preacher David Terrell "Daddy." She left his ministry for good at the age of seventeen and has not returned. She has written about religion for the Dallas Morning News and the Austin American Statesman. She was awarded a writing residency by the Ragdale Foundation (Lake Forest, IL) in Spring 2009 and won the Mayborn Creative Nonfiction...more
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“Doubt is a lot like faith; A mustard's seed worth changes everything.”
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Mar 05, 2012 05:31am