Product Description

The title of this thought-provoking book makes reference to the Damascus Road experience of Saul (Paul) of the Bible whose encounter with God on that road turned his life around If it were not for the wedding of her favourite aunt, Gloria, Diane would never have returned to Dentonville, Texas. She has been gone for 20 years but the devastation of growing up with a drug addicted and mentally ill mother still haunts her. After being blamed as a five year old for the death of her baby sister, Shannon, Diane has grown up with a broken spirit and a shattered heart that has led her all too often into the beds of men she barely knows. But Diane isn?t the only woman in the family running from her past. Diane?s younger cousins, Yolanda and Regina, who she thinks of as sisters, are struggling with an eating disorder and a paralyzing fear of an intimate relationship. The family?s burdens get heavier as Diane?s mother, Joyce Ann, slips deeper and deeper into schizophrenia. Surprisingly, it is Gloria, the most trusted and seemingly stable member of the family who has the most devastating and life-altering secret of all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #594366 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

About the Author
Michelle Stimpson is an educational consultant who earned her master?s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. The author of Boaz Brown, she currently lives in Dallas with her husband and two children.

Customer Reviews

Nobody Said The Road Would Be Easy
It was on Damascus road that Saul's life changed. He was out to destroy all believers when the Lord struck him down and blinded him. Then the Lord sent Ananias to remove the scales from his eyes and tell him of the marvelous works of the Lord. With new eyes, Saul whose name was changed to Paul, began to teach and preach the Gospel of Christ. In Michelle Stimpson's sophomore novel, The Divas of Damascus road, Dianne Rucker, her aunt Gloria and cousins Regina and Yolanda are walking down their own Damascus road. They are all but destroying their lives with their insecurities, secrets and anger. It takes Aunt Toe's words of wisdom to guide the women when they stumble and fall off track on their walk with the Lord.

Dianne Rucker believed that moving away from family was the answer. By moving from Dentonville, she would not have to deal with the guilt of being unable to help the person she loved the most. Nor would she have to deal with the anger she felt toward the mother that did not give her the love and support she needed. Therefore, Dianne sought love from all the wrong men. Yolanda is a pharmacist, a profession well -suited for a woman who has to have complete control of her environment. Her house is orderly; her life is orderly. Then she meets Kelan, a dreadlock-wearing brother from church. His entrance into her life disrupts her orderly lifestyle, but while trying to maintain control Yolanda cannot see that what she has been praying for is right in front of her. Regina had a weight problem all her life, until college, when she discovered diet pills. Happily married and a new mother, all seems well with Regina, but she is secretly miserable. Her obsession with her weight threatens to destroy her marriage and most of all her health. Finally, there is Gloria, Regina and Yolanda's mother. She is recently married after being a widow for many years. But Gloria has been holding on to secrets for much too long. When these secrets are revealed everyone's life changes. If it were not for the quirky, wise and sane Aunt Toe, this family would disintegrate.

The Divas of Damascus Road was a very riveting read. This reader laughed, fussed, rejoiced and cried with the characters as they struggled to overcome the obstacles in their way. The women learned lessons regarding humility, acceptance and forgiveness throughout the book. As much as they had to endure, they never strayed from their roots and that was to pray and beseech the Lord for answers. Initially, my thought was all the prayers were a bit much, but then when I really thought about it, silently I can send up several prayers and praises a day. It is never too much. Divas of Damascus Road is a good book. One I would recommend to Christian Fiction readers.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

You will see yourself in the book
The book was AWESOME. You will see yourself in each character. I could totally relate to Yolanda. I saw myself in the others as well, but Yolanda hit home for me. It's a good book for self-reflection and group discussion. You will not be able to put the book down. It is a MUST READ.

Diva to Damsels in distress to Divas again.
Michelle Stimpson has written a masterpiece. She has expounded on the Bond of family, the power of Love, the destruction of the past and then the healing power of GOD to bring it all to fruition. She has left the characters open to a series of the Rucker Women and their men. I still would love to see more of Diane and Richards nephew??? These women all have their own issues and their own fears that stem from secrets kept, but you find yourself going through the whirlwind with them as it unravels and transends down Damascus Road. Gloria Mae still has some fire and wisdom to pass on, and now Yolanda and Kelan along with Mr. Livingston have a story of their own also. I received this book on Saturday and finished reading it on Monday, so it is a page turner and one of those books that once you start, you will not want to put down. Very well done Michelle Stimpson and I look forward to her next novel.