African American Christian Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Women’s Mental Health
Date Published:December 7, 2021
Publisher: Jess, Mo’ Books LLC
Stepping away from her comfort zone, author JC Miller orchestrates a written tapestry chronicling the fragile state of a woman on the edge of insanity.
Plagued by a lifelong curse of mental illness, Mary Magdalene finds herself spending her golden years in a mental asylum. Her once zealous life becomes minimized to an endless routine of over-stimulating antipsychotic drugs. That is until Salmone Abrams, a hidden jewel from her past, resurfaces and helps her remember who she once was—The Queen of Harlem. Madame Mary Mags.
Inspired by her jazz playlist, JC Miller’s current novella, My Name is Mary Magdalene, shakes the family tree while exploring the often-stigmatized topic of mental health. This fictional spin on the biblical account of Mary Magdalene and her seven demons travels from the late 1940s into the mid-1990s as Mary recalls the battles that tore her life apart. Fear, Lust, Entitlement, Greed, Misery, Dependency, Guilt—emotional baggage that once achingly held her down propels her to victory.
About the Author
JC Miller lives in the scenic Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and floppy-eared Bassador pup.
Raised by a single mother in the Bronx, JC pulls from early experiences to showcase the soul of urban survival through faith-based novels. She also dedicates much of her time uplifting women via her blog and creating content with partner and friend, MR Spain, through their publishing company, Jess, Mo’ Books LLC.
On her days off, you can find JC whipping up her famous Red Velvet cake and listening to songs from her impressive vinyl record collection.
“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more” (Revelaion 3: 12).
The scripture verse above is the focus of the devotional reading for January 10th in Patrick Egle’s devotional Renovating Your Mind. I think it was no coincidence that as I leafed through this book before settling down to read, this devotional caught my eye.
In it, Patrick speaks about how he and his wife prayed about what the Lord would have them do with their lives, and after much prayer, he felt the Lord say to him, “Richard, you need to strengthen that which needs to remain strong.”
Patrick believed God was telling him that his marriage needed to be a pillar, firmly established in the Lord, so that when the storms of live come, his marriage would remain standing. I believe this not only pertains to Richard and his marriage, but to all of us, because storms come to us all, and if we are not firmly rooted and grounded in Christ, we will crumble.
With 365 devotions, Renovating Your Mind encourages and challenges readers to “renovate” their minds by changing their thinking from perspective to the truth of God’s word. The book is not some great theological work, but the simple journaling of a layman bent on helping others from every level and every denomination come to understand that despite the struggles we all sometimes face, we can learn to trust in God and experience the joy and freedom He so freely offers.
If you are looking for a devotional to encourage and strengthen your faith in the new year, I highly recommend this book.
How did the first Americans end up last in America?
From Dog to Wolf is the story of Daniel Graywolf, an Oglala Lakota teen struggling to survive on the impoverished Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Shy and a loner, young Daniel escapes the drama of life there by wandering the creek beds and washed-out roads in search of specimens for his rock collection; a practice that has earned him the regrettable nickname “Rock Dog.” One day he meets Dr. Robert Timberland, a geology professor from the nearby university. Together they solve the mystery of an important find Daniel has made while searching ancestral lands near the reservation. With the help and wisdom of tribal elders, they devise a plan that brings about the long-deserved restitution for his Sioux ancestors. To succeed will require considerably more of Daniel than just human resolve.
