Five very personal testimonies of faith are given in But He Calls Me Blessed: When the Unbelievable Happens to Believers by Sarah Udoh. Women that stayed faithful to God or rediscovered His faithfulness, despite being vulnerable and exposed. Stories of rape, rejection, forced marriage, and barren wombs that would render the average woman bitter, depressed and strayed away from God as a loving Father who wants the best for His children.

Set in Austria these women told their story to Sarah Udoh who interviewed them and penned their narrative in relatable first-person memoirs. Unbelievable things happened, dreams turned into miracles, despite cruel circumstances. Although this may comfort the (female) audience, alarm bells went off during my reading sessions. Why wasn't professional help sought? Why was the police not alarmed in case of rape or domestic violence? Should you simply endure everything from abusive, bullying or violent husbands, just because you uphold Christian marriage principles?

The women so desperately seeking ways to become pregnant, including all kinds of IVF treatments, medicine, etc. 'suddenly' hold onto a prophecy claimed to be from God directly. Numerous affirmative and inspiring Bible verses are quoted, exactly the ones that originate from a very different context than these 21st-century testimonies, and the same that can wound Christians all over the globe for being too easy answers to life's complexities and the broken world we live in.

I had intended reviewing this book sooner because I'd intended reading it quicker but that proved impossible. It's a fairly short book (148 pages) and I thought I would read it quickly but I found I couldn't as after I read each chapter or section I had to stop and process what I'd read. This is not an easy read and its impact is much greater than its size. At heart it voices the testimonies of five women of mostly African background who find themselves in varying degrees of heart breaking, traumatic and violently dangerous situations. It is the story of how they survive and the role their faith in God plays in this, is questioned, sometimes broken and then remade.

These words are from the author's Afterword:

"It is easy enough to have faith when your life's journey is going according to plan, but what happens to that faith when an ardent believer is faced with a life-threatening crisis? The Bible promises that one who trusts in Him will not be tested beyond what he or she can bear. So what if a believer reaches that limit? How does he or she sustain his or her faith under such awful and testing circumstances?....The book in your hand addresses these poignant questions. It contains the true account of five brave female believers who have gone through ordeals that, luckily, most of us only ever see on the movie theatre screen. Through experiences of rape, abuse, barrenness, rejection, destitution and death, these women have wandered the dark tunnel of grief, loneliness and despondency, and somehow managed to come out strong despite their ordeal."

These are not 'easy faith' stories. They are tales of hard faith lived out in deeply troubling and dangerous circumstances. The book raises deep, difficult and complex cultural and cross-cultural questions of ethics and pastoral dilemmas. I can't say too much without giving away spoilers but there were times when one of the women felt she was receiving wisdom from God to return to a frankly life threatening situation and I was virtually screaming at the page/screen "No, it's a trap, not all guidance that seems to come from God is actually from God!" Yet, like in the story of Joseph from the Old Testament, you need to see/read the whole story from beginning to end in context before you judge. In all honesty I'm still not convinced by some of the decision making in the various stories but this only highlights the enormous difference between the person in the actual situation and an outside observer in terms of which route to take.

This book should, in my opinion, be on the bookshelf of every church and anyone involved in pastoral care and deserves to be read far and wide both in the church and outwith it although I'm guessing it's aimed more at the Christian community facing hard 'why?' questions. When I'm faced with someone, Christian or non Christian, asking why God allows some things to happen or doesn't prevent other things, I can offer some kind of answer based on Biblical teaching. Yet I find it much more helpful to point to a book or testimony by a person who has actually lived that same situation and come through it by displays of hard and sustaining faith in God even while questioning God. This is one such book that I would happily give to someone with questions. It won't answer everything but it carries more power because it comes from personal experience. The stories aren't all wrapped up neatly but rather, like life, ongoing. Yet there remains the promise that the God who proved himself in these tales remains present to continue to save, heal and support.

I'd reiterate that it's not an easy read and it may cause distress in readers who have suffered similar experiences. Yet that is precisely why it's so powerful. It speaks from within the pain rather than outside it looking in.

Thanks to Sarah Udoh-Grossfurthner for compiling these testimonies and the women who shared their stories.

According to Amazon UK 10% from sales of this book will be donated to support trafficked and abused women.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

A very tragic story line.
Upsetting subject matter- Rape,Abuse.
I must admit I did struggle to read this, it is an interesting read.
Thank you to both NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review