Scan barcode
A review by soundslikeashley
In My Grandmother's House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit by Yolanda Pierce
5.0
So far, this is my favorite book I've read in 2021. I grew up in the Holiness-Pentecostal church and this is the first time I've read a contemporary book from a Black woman about the experience.
Dr. Pierce gives a beautiful glimpse into her world growing up in the faith, the women like her grandmother who helped to guide her, and the epiphanies she's had about her faith and personal theology.
I was especially struck by how deftly Dr. Pierce described sacraments and symbolism - separating tradition from worthiness of God's love and grace. I was also moved by the way in which she honors her ancestors by speaking their names in a world that would just as soon forget and bury them.
Her description of foot washing services at church hit home with me because I, too, REALLY disliked them growing up. Reading her later interpretation of the ritual gave me a whole new outlook.
In all, this book, has been incredibly helpful to me as someone who identifies simply as Christian as opposed to the Pentecostalism of my upbringing because it empowered me to continue building out my personal theology. It introduced the mere IDEA of a personal theology. This book helped to loosen some of the shackles of legalism that had been holding me down and it is helping me to further embrace the roots and Blackness of my faith as part of my relationship with God.
I recommend this book to any Black women who grew up in stricter denominations of Christianity who are searching for God in a new way. I recommend this book to any Black women who are struggling with what meat to eat, what bones to throw away of their childhood religion and what new meals they can make for themselves with a new personal faith.
Thank you so much, Dr. Pierce.
Dr. Pierce gives a beautiful glimpse into her world growing up in the faith, the women like her grandmother who helped to guide her, and the epiphanies she's had about her faith and personal theology.
I was especially struck by how deftly Dr. Pierce described sacraments and symbolism - separating tradition from worthiness of God's love and grace. I was also moved by the way in which she honors her ancestors by speaking their names in a world that would just as soon forget and bury them.
Her description of foot washing services at church hit home with me because I, too, REALLY disliked them growing up. Reading her later interpretation of the ritual gave me a whole new outlook.
In all, this book, has been incredibly helpful to me as someone who identifies simply as Christian as opposed to the Pentecostalism of my upbringing because it empowered me to continue building out my personal theology. It introduced the mere IDEA of a personal theology. This book helped to loosen some of the shackles of legalism that had been holding me down and it is helping me to further embrace the roots and Blackness of my faith as part of my relationship with God.
I recommend this book to any Black women who grew up in stricter denominations of Christianity who are searching for God in a new way. I recommend this book to any Black women who are struggling with what meat to eat, what bones to throw away of their childhood religion and what new meals they can make for themselves with a new personal faith.
Thank you so much, Dr. Pierce.