DIARY OF A WOMAN PASTOR

In the tone of one sisterfriend to another, playwright, publisher and former pastor Sheritha Bowman, infuses humility, transparency and humor in her latest book, Diary of a Woman Pastor. Bowman warmly welcomes readers into her virtual living room and transforms her journal/memoirs into an expose` where she recounts her journey from puberty to the pastorate - and beyond. Her comical yet truthful references to her own adult attention deficit (ADD) and near-addiction to cheesecake make Diary of a Woman Pastor a refreshing literary treat.

Bowman begins with a description of her formative years in urban Washington, D.C., where she lived in a loving, but somewhat malfunctioning female-headed household. She discloses how the lack of positive relationship models led her to experimentation with marijuana and promiscuous activity. She candidly describes the effects of a generational curse stemming from at least as far back as her grandmother which reached down to her and her siblings. Nevertheless, in the true spirit of the proverbial strong, black woman, her grandmother still manages to see that Sheritha attends church regularly, thereby planting a seed of righteousness which would later blossom into salvation and deliverance for her and other family members.

After a series of toxic relationships, Bowman weds and begins a family of her own. However, her marriage is threatened when she is haunted by specters from her childhood - insecurity, fear of abandonment and the like. While seeking and serving the Lord, she is delivered, layer-by-layer, from the damaging by-products of her past. She later bonds with two female pastors who temporarily mentor and usher her into her self-described mistaken appointment as pastor. On separate occasions, her relationship with each of them deteriorates causing her to delve more deeply into her soul, seeking and eventually acknowledging her true calling as a writer.

Although she realizes that her call to pastor was misinterpreted, many were blessed and enriched due to her faithful intentions and through God's grace. As she continues to seek spiritual guidance, Bowman attends a number of religious conferences and workshops which would confirm her anointed calling to minister - not from the pulpit, but from pages and stages. Finally, she boldly relinquishes her church and answers to the call to lead others to Christ through her gift of writing books, producing stage plays, and perhaps someday - movies.
Venus Mason Theus,
Author of Brown Paper Bag, a novel
Chocolate Pages Reviewer