The Pastor's Wife (22 page)

Description

Handsome and charismatic pastor Terrance Ellis is beloved by the Lily Grove Baptist Church community. Terrance’s commitment to his work leaves little time for romance and, to the dismay of his congregation and his family, he is almost thirty and still a bachelor. While the church elders and his elderly aunts vow to find Terrance a wife before the church’s upcoming hundredth anniversary Christmas celebration, Terrance tentatively begins dating Savannah, a woman with a checkered past and a provocative style. As he gets to know Savannah, however, his relationship with his secretary, Raquel, begins to change in unexpected ways. One way or another, Terrance seems on his way to settling down, but the long-buried secret Savannah uncovers threatens to destroy Terrance’s career and his chance at love.

Questions for Discussion

1. The church elders are extremely concerned that Terrance isn’t in a relationship, going so far as to suggest hiring an actress to portray his girlfriend. Aunt Mamie says, “They think if you’re thirty and single, something’s wrong.” Why are the elders so focused on Terrance’s marital status? How is their concern different from that of his aunts?
   
2. Terrance’s friend Monty believes that Terrance can be a father to his child without marrying the mother. Do you think Terrance’s decision to marry Savannah if she is pregnant is right? Why or why not?
   
3. Terrance’s aunt Mamie tells Savannah, “People can change. We don’t believe you can.” Do you agree with Mamie that some people are incapable of change? Do you think that under the right circumstances anyone can change?
   
4. In what ways do Terrance’s shortcomings help him to be a better pastor and a better man?
   
5. Were Terrance’s aunts right to interfere so much with his love life? Did your opinion of them change as events unfolded?
   
6. If you’ve read Billingsley’s novels
   Everybody Say Amen
   and
   Let the Church Say Amen,
   you’ll recognize Rachel Jackson Adams, the first lady of Zion Hill who gives a speech at Lily Grove’s Christmas brunch. What parallels do you see between Savannah and Rachel? Why do you think Billingsley included Rachel in this novel?
   
7. What did you think about the relationship between Raquel and Dolan? Did it realistically portray the horror of domestic violence? How did you feel about the dramatic way their relationship finally ended?
   
8. When Terrance reveals his secret and ends his relationship with Savannah for good, Savannah says, “I just needed someone like Terrance in my life and people would stop putting me down so much…. I know I try to act like it doesn’t, but it hurts and I just wanted a different life.” Do you have any sympathy for Savannah? Did she genuinely think a relationship with Terrance would transform her? Do you believe she will truly “find herself”?
   
9. How does Grandmother Florence’s past influence Savannah’s behavior? How is it ironic that at the end of the novel, Terrance’s aunts are more forgiving than Florence?
   
10. What did you think about Terrance after learning the secret he’d kept for fourteen years? Do you agree that, as Eva says, “[T]his is worse than any prison [he] could’ve been in”? Do you believe that he has been punished enough?
    
11. What does this novel seem to say about the nature of forgiveness and acceptance?
    

A Conversation with ReShonda Tate Billingsley

You’ve given us two books about the Jackson family; any plans for a sequel to
The Pastor’s Wife,
or a crossover novel featuring both families? It was fun to get a glimpse of Rachel Jackson Adams in this book.

I definitely don’t have plans for a sequel, but never say never. All of my characters make appearances in my other novels. Luther and his ghetto-fabulous girlfriend Mi’chelle from
My Brother’s Keeper
make an appearance in
Everybody Say Amen,
as does Mama Tee from
I Know I’ve Been Changed.
Rachel and Bobby even have a cameo in
My Brother’s Keeper.
I love letting my characters “pay visits” to my other books.

The themes of forgiveness and overcoming one’s past seem to feature prominently in your books. Are these concerns that you’ve dealt with often in your own life?

Let me clarify something to calm my mother’s nerves—she didn’t emotionally or physically scar me; my home life wasn’t turbulent; I didn’t have any serious issues of forgiveness I needed to deal with; I don’t have a checkered past. But those are issues that are near to my heart because between my extended family, friends, and fifteen years in the television news business, I’ve seen the damage those issues can cause. That’s why those are often central themes in my novels.

Do you feel that Savannah is a sympathetic character? Did you want us to sympathize with her even after her decision to blackmail Terrance?

I wanted Savannah to be complex. On one hand, I wanted the reader to see this provocative, scheming woman. But on the other, I wanted people to understand what her motivation was. It’s not like she was just some mean-spirited, conniving woman. She wanted love so desperately that she went to great lengths to get it.

Terrance is a complicated character. Do you believe, as Mamie says, that mental anguish can be worse than any prison someone could be in?

Absolutely. Guilt can wear a person down, tear down their body and their spirit. I wanted to show how even a man of God was refusing to listen to the Word that tells us if God forgives our sins, why can’t we? One of the difficulties people are often faced with is the inability to forgive our own sins. We pray for forgiveness and once forgiveness has been executed by God, we often resume personal punishment and torment of our own souls, which God has already said is “clean through My Son’s Blood.”

Like Rachel Jackson Adams from
Let the Church Say Amen
and
Everybody Say Amen,
Savannah has a checkered past but seems to want to change. Terrance has spent his whole life doing good for others after making a fatal mistake as a teenager. Do you think everyone can change with enough work, or are some people just incapable of changing?

I think everyone is capable of change. But the desire to do so must be real and come from the heart.

Who are some of your favorite authors? How have they influenced your writing?

I am an avid reader and enjoy everyone from Mary Higgins Clark to Kimberla Lawson Roby, Eric Jerome Dickey, Victoria Christopher Murray, and Jacquelin Thomas. I also love reading books by new and upcoming authors such as Mimi Jefferson, Sherri Lewis, and Latrese Carter. The authors I enjoy influence my writing because they continue to motivate me to tell good stories.

Does your approach to writing change with every book? Do you ever find that your own writing changes the way you think about the world?

I approach each book with a simple goal—tell an entertaining story that will also enlighten and educate, while making people reflect on their own lives. Since I am an imperfect individual, there are times I still have to remind myself to practice what I preach.

You make numerous public appearances at book fairs, book club meetings, universities, and on tour. Do you enjoy meeting your readers? Do you prefer being around an audience or the solitary time you spend creating characters and stories?

Solitary? What’s that? I have three kids, a husband, and a dog. Solitary hasn’t visited my house in years. I absolutely, positively love interacting with my readers. I love hearing people talk about my characters as if they were real people. I love the feedback and constructive criticism, and to hear people simply say “Your book touched my life.” Next to creating the stories, meeting the readers has to be the thing I enjoy most.

Do you have a favorite of all the books you’ve written so far?

That’s like asking me which of my kids I like best! All of my books are my favorite!

With several more books in the works and requests for appearances pouring in, you must be a master multitasker. As you become more popular with each new novel you publish, do you find it harder to balance family, career, and other commitments? How do you keep up your energy?

I would love to say I work out feverishly, drink energy drinks, and take great care of myself. But my treadmill is used to hang my clothes on, I’d much rather a glass of Kool-Aid, and my New Year’s resolution to take more “me time” is still waiting to be fulfilled. But I am able to do all that I do because, one, I don’t believe in idle time. You won’t catch me sitting around doing nothing. I utilize every spare moment. And second, I wouldn’t be able to do a third of the things I do if it weren’t for my fabulous support system of my husband, mother, sister, and cousin. I know my kids miss me when I’m on the road, but my support system helps and I think my children understand that Mommy is working to build a better life. (Plus, I need to travel now, because when they get to be teenagers, I will be at home, all up in their business, monitoring what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with. I’m not one of those ‘I respect your privacy’ moms, but I digress…)

Activities to Enhance Your Book Club

1. Host a cozy potluck Sunday brunch or dinner (with or without Savannah’s notorious hot wings). Visit www.foodnetwork.com and prepare tasty dishes featured in the novel, such as chicken Alfredo and lasagna.
   
2. Tyler Perry’s films contain many of the same themes found in Billingsley’s books, such as spiritual awakening and humorous family drama. Host a movie night and watch the blockbusters
   Diary of a Mad Black Woman
   and
   Madea’s Family Reunion
   . Cast
   The Pastor’s Wife
   and discuss who you’d like to see play the characters from the novel.
   
3. Learn more about the author and her upcoming tours and projects at the comprehensive website www.reshondatatebillingsley.com.