Get the Holy Ghost, Girl!

On October 16^th, Donna M. Johnson, author of Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir, met with us to discuss her memoir. Last night was the most recent time someone mentioned to me that they very much enjoyed our author visit. This has been going on all week! I wish I had counted the number of people who mentioned how much they enjoyed reading Holy Ghost Girl and/or that this was one of our best ever author visits!

Johnson began by reading the prologue of the book aloud. She said that the prologue was the first piece from the book that she submitted for judgment. She entered the prologue into a contest and won! Publishing agents pursued her, and publication was quickly scheduled. The author has some regrets that she didn’t have time to reread and rewrite more. She says the published version is basically a first draft.

Talking about David Terrell’s followers, “Terrellites,” and their individual journeys through life, Donna explained the difficulties faced by anyone who attempts to enter mainstream society from the margins: the poor, those raised in fringe groups similar to the Pentacostal groups, minorities of all kinds and especially those raised to feel alienated from the mainstream. Those who feel like outsiders are drawn to someone, such as Terrell, who offers hope and a sense of belonging. The emotional pull of belonging to a group and forgetting about the more lonely facets of life can be strong. It’s traumatic for anyone who tries to leave the comforts of the group.

Johnson and others who tried to leave suffered various emotional and physical trials. The Pentacostals were taught that their God was punitive and exacting, with random bestowing of grace on souls. Healings were miraculous when they occurred during tent revival meetings, but the excitement and energetic emotion often didn’t last for those who had been healed, once they were home in a more stable and less stimulating environment. Johnson told us of a personal illness that seemed to be healed directly by Brother Terrell, only to reappear 10 years later, when Johnson was an adult and free of daily interaction with the Pentacostal group. She had to struggle to regain and maintain her physical and mental health once she left the group and joined society. And Johnson seems to have been one of the lucky ones among her cohorts, who were not all able to break away successfully from the strong group and who, in many cases, suffer from substance abuse, poverty, and/or inertia. It almost seems like addiction to the Pentacostal group.

Questions posed by members of our Book Club included the following:

Dennis asked whether Johnson had kept any physical items that she felt were magical or otherwise imbued with spiritual energy from the services she had attended or directly from David Terrell. Johnson said that she had not, but that she feels some of the hymns and spirituals deeply embedded into her psyche.

Cheryl asked whether Brother Terrell had shared lucrative donations. This brought a discussion about mentions in the book of Terrell’s eventual wealth and some of his buying of property of various kinds. There were questions from our audience about tax evasion, too. Terrell had a private corporation, which helped with taxes, and he did pay taxes. Johnson said he gave to individuals but didn’t just share all his receipts with the general attendance at meetings.

I asked what the difference was between Pentacostal and Evangelical. Johnson said that the Evangelical movement is more modern and more integrated with society. Evangelical services are more emotional but less weird.

Heather asked whether those who “speak in tongues” can understand each other. Johnson explained that speaking in tongues is considered to be the Holy Spirit speaking through a person, a personal love language to speak with God. Most people are somewhat entranced when speaking or praying this way and don’t really know what they are saying.

Everyone found Holy Ghost Girl fascinating, partly because it’s well-written and partly because of the unusual adventures it describes. We were all grateful that Donna Johnson shared this very personal memoir with us. There was a lengthy line for book signing!