Healing by His Spirit

Healing By His Spirit is the wonderful raw autobiography of a woman named Geraldine Bryant, known as Gerri to her friends and family, in which she shows how even through the toughest of times her faith never faltered and her relationship with God became even stronger.

The book starts off with Gerri describing her childhood. Growing up in Philadelphia, Gerri’s father was an alcoholic and her mother worked hard to keep the family afloat. Gerri does not talk much about her two older brothers in her book and this may be because they are much older than her and had moved out by the time Gerri reached her teen years.

The book follows Gerri through one relationship after another, her first being with a boy named Sidney, who seems nice enough at first but then shows his true colors when Gerri denies him sexual relations when she is only fourteen years old and he sixteen. This relationship, along with a horrible rape scene shortly after, was very hard to read. This young, innocent girl becomes pregnant after being raped and goes on to have another abusive “relationship.” My heart broke as Gerri’s decisions led to hurt, heartbreak, and uncertainty. In one part of the book, she becomes extremely ill. It seems as if nothing will help cure her and the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with her. She goes to her church where her pastor gives her something to wear close to her heart and has her do an at-home ritual of putting a glass of red wine on a Psalms passage and a twenty-minute bath. The results are nothing short of a miracle.

What struck me most is that Gerri never gave up. She lived her life despite all of the setbacks. She got hired at the Postal Service and with the help of her mom raised her daughter Janel. Gerri’s perseverance and strength are very admirable. The one thing I would have liked to hear more about was Gerri’s relationship with Janel. She has many adventures, but not too many that include Janel as she is growing up.

Healing By His Spirit will be an inspiration to those who read it. With easy to read chapters that flow chronologically, it is easy to read this book in one sitting as you become entranced by what is going to happen next. An excellent book by an amazing woman.