Pastor's Wives by Lisa Cullen

Pastors’ Wives follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a megachurch called Greenleaf. Reeling from the death of her mother, Ruthie suffers a crisis of faith—in God, in her marriage, and in herself. Candace is Greenleaf’s “First Lady,” a force of nature who’ll stop at nothing to protect her church and her husband.

Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their lives collide during a fateful event that threatens the survival of all that is precious to them, each will ask herself: what is the price of loving a man of God?

Inspired by Cullen’s reporting for Time magazine, Pastors’ Wives is a passionate portrayal of the private lives of pastors’ wives, caught between the consuming demands of faith, marriage, duty, and love.

My thoughts...

This was an interesting story. I certainly wouldn't want to be a pastor's wife. Three very different women, one having lost her belief in God and feels she must leave her husband because of his profession. Ruthie has issues and must learn to work through them. Her life doesn't turn out the way I thought it would.

Candace is more like a body guard than a wife, her one goal is to protect her husband who is the pastor of a mega church and has started an interfaith organization. This doesn't sit well with everyone because it involves a Muslim Iman, a Jewish Rabbi, and her husband... a protestant minister. There are lots of problems in running a mega church. Candace's life doesn't turn out the way I thought it would.

Ginger is the daughter in law of Candace. She's struggling to be a good pastor's wife and mother while trying to hide her colorful past. Ginger's life... well, it doesn't turn out the way I thought it would either. Something big happens and the women's lives change drastically.

This is the first book I've read by Cullen, it gives us a picture of what all is involved in being a pastor's wife. Interesting characters, big problems, a little suspense. A great novel.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.