The Amen Sisters

Genesis House #3

by Angela Benson

The Amen Sisters, the third book in Angela Benson’s emotional and uplifting Genesis House series, offers a compassionate look at the lives that are forever changed when a pastor abuses his power with the women of his congregation. It is a story of love, faith and forgiveness that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

Francine Amen burned a lot of bridges when she left her home town to join a traveling ministry. When she's forced to return broken and alone after a scandal involving her pastor, she finds that making amends is not easy. Her sister, Dawn Amen-Ray, is having her own set of problems. With her marriage to Francine's ex in trouble, she's not ready to deal with Francine's return.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian

354 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Though Angela Benson began writing fiction in Miss Milizo's fifth grade English class, her first book was not published until 1994, more than thirty years later! Since then, Angela has published twelve novels, two novellas, and a nonfiction writing book. Her books have appeared on national, regional and local bestseller lists, and she has won several writing awards, including Best Multicultural Romance from Romantic Times magazine, and Best Contemporary Ethnic Romance from Affaire de Coeur magazine. She was a finalist for the 2000 Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award in Multicultural Romance.

After publishing seven contemporary romance novels and one novella with Kensington and Harlequin, Angela made a faith move to Christian fiction in 2000 with the publication of Awakening Mercy, the first book in her Genesis House series from Tyndale House Publishers. Awakening Mercy was a finalist for both the RITA Award given by Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction. The second book in the Genesis House series, Abiding Hope, was published in September 2001. Abiding Hope was awarded the Emma Award for Best Inspirational Romance presented by the Romance Slam Jam. The third book and final book of the series, Enduring Love, is not yet scheduled.

BET Books, now Harlequin's Kimani Press purchased the mass market rights to Awakening Mercy and Abiding Hope in 2000 and released mass market editions of the titles in June 2002 and June 2003, respectively.

Angela's first hardcover title, The Amen Sisters, was released in September 2005 by Walk Worthy Press. The Essence bestselling title won the Emma Award for Best Inspirational Romance. The trade paperback edition was released in November 2007.

Up Pops the Devil, published by HarperCollins (Avon A) in August 2008, was Angela's eleventh novel. It was selected the November 2008 African-American Book Club Pick at Books-A-Million and was featured in the September-October 2008 issue of UPSCALE Magazine.

Angela's twelfth novel, Sins of the Father (Avon A), hits bookstores in September 2009. Her second novella, Showers of Blessings, in the A Million Blessings (Dafina) anthology, was published in March 2010.

Angela has a diverse education and work history. She majored in mathematics at Spelman College and Industrial Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and worked for fifteen years as an engineer in the telecommunications industry. She holds Masters degrees in operations research and human resources development. Her most recent degree is a doctorate in instructional technology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Benson is now an associate professor of educational technology at The University of Alabama.

Reviews

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amen Sisters is a breezy, soft read for anyone interested in church shenanigans with a bit of larger commentary.

I really enjoyed Angela Benson's bravery—writing even a fictional book about sexual abuse in the black church is no comfortable feat, and she's able to break down a lot of the barriers that make it hard to discuss these issues in real life. Her focus on the women in the church who serve as enablers and apologists for the powerful men in their lives was specifically honest and insightful.

Her book's resolution is unhelpfully tidy, and erases some of the moral complexity she created earlier on. Given the genre, maybe I should've expected this, but it still let me down a bit. In most "church lit," it's common to find one side being depicted as completely sanctified, and the other as right in line with Satan. I appreciated the moments when she refused to do that here, but wish there'd been more of them.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, it lets you know what is going on in some of the churches behind close doors. Learn to read, study and meditate on the word of God so you will know what is being said is the "Word of God. "

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

About the Book:

After witnessing the suicide of a church sister, Minister Francine Amen is disgusted with herself for turning against the young woman and refusing to accept her claim of sexual abuse by their pastor. Now, after a short stay in a psychiatric hospital, Francine is trying to pull her life and her ministry back together. But first she must face all of the people she has hurt so deeply--including her younger sister, Dawn. But can Dawn trust her? Francine used to date Dawn's husband, Sly--who now seems just a little too interested in Francine's recovery. As far as Dawn is concerned, Sly would be better off spending his time making amends to her for his own sins.

My review:

The Amen Sisters has a killer beginning and moves along at a pretty fast pace for a while. There is plenty of drama to move the story forward and the tension is realistic and well done. The story slowed a bit in the middle when it got heavy on the church scenes and talking a lot about forgiveness and issues from the past. Then the action picked up again.

I prefer to be in the middle of the action and experience conflict and agony along with the characters. There was potential for emotional suffering at first, but the slower parts were hard for me to get through. That's just the way I see things.

I enjoyed the conflict between Dawn, Sly, Freddy, and Walter. However, I'm a pretty forgiving person so Dawn's ongoing anger started bugging me. I was glad when she and Sly began seeking the Lord more in their relationship, which is the best way to heal from that type of rift. The point the author made about stepping out in faith to rebuild trust and choosing to love was excellently done.

Overall I enjoyed this novel. I liked how the author tied some scenes back to Genesis House, which was from an earlier book the author wrote. But it would've been better with a little less talk and more action in the middle to keep the story from sagging. Regardless, The Amen Sisters ranks high in edgy content, so I'd recommend it to people who enjoy reading about real life issues.

The Amen Sisters was published by Warner Books/Walkworthy Press and released in 2005.

[Diana Townsend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but there were some definite flaws that kept me from giving it a higher rating. Francine is too judgmental, and while I acknowledge that people call her out on it, it's not enough. She continues to do it the entire book and then gets praised for blessing people. How can someone be a blessing to you when they are being hypocritical and judgmental? I'm not so sure I bought into this notion. Also, Sylvester's character was a problem for me. How can he put his foot down about something when he was the one wrong in the marriage to Dawn? And how strange is it for one sister to marry the other sister's ex-fiance'? I don't know... It kept my attention but it was a little far fetched for me.

[Quaneisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I lived the most about this book is that it covers church hurt and perception. Oftentimes people’s perception is based off their reality and this book does a really good job of explaining multiple views and tying it all together.

[Ignacio Fernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a fast pace book with some flaws that are a bit predictable. The narrative is steady and keep the audience interested on how some friction between the character are resolved.
Good book!

[Jennifer Spriggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. Too much going on. All over the place. Way too repetitive.

[Constance Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the structure, flow, and dynamics of this book.

[Deejay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. It's a christian based book that reminds one of the many forms of sin..including self-righteousness and being judgmental. I don't want to be a spoiler. I could really go into detail. This book made me take a look at myself and to further understand how sinful I can be without even realizing it. Thanks Angela Benson!

[Courtney Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It gave good examples as to how easily judgement is passed and addressed the issues that come with facing things you find yourself ashamed of. In order to move on from a past that you're not so proud of, you must first release the shame and know that everything happens for a reason. There is a greater good.

[Nicole Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi really enjoyed this book. It's really important to not only learn from your mistakes but to remember that you don't have to live in condemnation and shame because of it. This book really spoke to me.

It was very well written. I hadn't read any of Ms Benson's work in a whole but I will add her to my faves list. This is a very good book. I was drawn in from beginning to end

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by this author. The topic of this book is more common then readers know. I've heard about this more times then I can remember. The ending was not what i expected but it was a really good read.

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

These sisters and their community understands about the strength of God. They persevered, struggled, stood together and shared his works. This book was funny, an insight into people and their lives, regardless of their "church" status.....remember they're human first before any title.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my cup of tea. I tried it, but too much centered on those who are 'saved' and those who are not.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read

[Pattie Outlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting and compelling read.Reminds the reader of real life situations and what happens when trust is misplaced. Everyone has a purpose in life and people are placed in life for a reason.

[Mercedes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Christian chic lit. Angela Benson sure know how to get her message across with sounding preachy or self-righteous.

[Clarenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

very intersting with a surprising end...

[Pearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it.

[Donna Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read.

[ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good read it kept me focus

[D. Eddington]

Her writing is impeccable. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Tonya Crittenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read was so life turning for me an my daughter, it was gripping down to earth, and thought provoking.

[Angie Riddick · Rating 4 out of 5]

took awhile to understand the story line. Once I was able to grasp the book it became interesting.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly, I liked this audiobook. It was a quick listen and my listening lesson was to not focus on the past to the extent of my future. To that, I say Amen!

[Tammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book.

[Alfreda]

Not as good as I thought it would be.