Description:
In Dancing with God, Steve Wall describes several remarkable Southerners who survived near-death traumas or had other experiences with the Lord. In each chapter, the author introduces a person, then presents that person's story in his or her own words. Wall has captured some inspiring and downright odd Southern voices in this book. Floyd Justice, a soft-spoken fisherman, describes how it felt to spend two and a half hours underwater and survive with God's help. When Sarah Phillips of Hampton, Virginia, tells her near-death story, she pauses many times to say a few words to Pretty Bird, the cockatiel who always perches on her head. Most of the people in this book are rural, extremely generous, and reluctant to talk about their strange experiences. This reader found Germaine Curley's vision of God particularly intriguing: "He has no face and He has no body. He's just two giant-sized puffy beautiful arms." Wall writes that he hopes to grow closer to God by interviewing people who have encountered the deity firsthand. During his journey toward God, Wall considers various ways people express their Christianity. In one chapter, the author poses as a homeless man and visits a soup kitchen, where the church-affiliated workers treat him badly, but a destitute man gives him survival tips and offers him a place to live. Wall's photographs of the characters he met while making the book help bring their words to life. This book will appeal to religious readers and to fans of Wall's previous books on Native American spirituality. --Jill Marquis
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