Samantha of Samaria, by John Ramsey

Samantha of Samaria is a fictional story of the woman at the well and chronicles her struggle to find peace through five husbands. David, husband number six, turns out to be the prodigal son from Jesus’ parable. The six men in Samantha’s life each make a different contribution to how she sees the world. Each relationship is an attempt to find what all of us long for: love. But Samantha's life has developed a pattern that looks for marriage to fail. Unfortunately, as with most things, practice makes perfect. Samantha finds she is not getting better at marriage, but instead is getting better at divorce. She has become an expert at letting go. Samantha is a master of rejection.

Eventually, Samantha learns the greatest lesson in life: we all need Christ to give our life purpose and meaning. Without Jesus as our cornerstone, our spiritual compass is untrue. Through a series of hard life lessons, Samantha comes to Christ and learns to be true to herself. She also learns that even when you’re alone, you do not have to be lonely.

My thoughts:

Sometimes I like Biblical fiction, and sometimes I don't. The story of the woman at the well has always stood out to me. We don't know a lot about her, other than she had been married five times, and was living with a man not married to her, and that she was obviously looked down on.

The author uses his imagination and weaves a story about what this woman's life was like before she met Jesus. Intertwined with it, is the story of the prodigal son. Though not a very long book, 152 pages, I really enjoyed the book, and it made the Biblical story fresh and new. In addition to a new look at the woman at the well, I gained a new perspective on the prodigal son, and the book views a few parables through his eyes.

About the author:

John R. Ramsey is the founding Pastor of Harvest Worship Center, a non-denominational church in Panama City, Florida. Pastor Ramsey has been in full-time ministry for twenty-four years and has spent the past eighteen years serving as a pastor. His knowledge of God’s Word as well as his own journey allows him to tell stories with a unique perspective.

Pastor Ramsey and his wife live in Panama City, Florida with their three daughters where he continues to dedicate himself to leading people into new levels of spiritual maturity.

Samantha of Samaria is available from Winepress Publishing. Thanks to Abagail from WP for the review copy.