Critical Praise
"Donna Johnson's unapologetic treatment of her childhood immersed in the Pentecostal tent-meeting movement is flawless. She is honest in her retelling of events, yet her tone is even and sympathetic. The author’s focus is on David Terrell, charismatic leader of a traveling group of believers, her mother who is dedicated to his cause, and the myriad other children and adults who are a part of her extended family. Terrell is weak of flesh but strong in will-power --- a popular preacher and healer who is on the rise in religious circles. His tent meetings are huge and as donations begin to flow in, excess and the downfall of his ministry soon follow. With a background similar to Johnson's, I can attest to the familiar, authentic Pentecostal content in her story. This is an excellent book for those wanting to know more about the Pentecostal faith of the mid-1900s and the beliefs that kept them going in the face of spiritual disaster."
—Linda Bond, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, WA
"Johnson spent her childhood in the 1960s and 1970s traveling the America’s South with revivalist preacher Brother David Terrell, a hugely popular Holy Roller who brought thousands to his raucous tent sermons. But life under the tent --- and under Terrell’s control --- was far from easy, and Johnson eloquently recounts this uncommon upbringing shaped by constant upheaval and her increasingly fraught conception of faith. Leaving the tent circuit for good at 16 gave Johnson the perspective she needed for this fascinating tale of life with a “con man, a prophet, a performer."
—Publishers Weekly
"Donna Johnson grew up amongst the wood chips and giant circus tents of a traveling preacher and faith healer. Her mother played organ for the last of the sawdust preachers, so she sat through each sermon, travelled the country, and lived a life that few have ever experienced, let alone recounted. She was there for the highs, lows, and the ultimate downfall. This is an eloquent memoir, both funny and moving, a highly unique perspective on an experience that all but vanished with the advent of mega churches. A great read."
—Flannery Fitch, Bookshop Santa Cruz
"Donna M. Johnson's memoir captivated me from the first page. Vividly written and richly detailed, it evokes a curious subculture that few Americans are familiar with --- that of the Pentecostal revival tent, with all the spiritual and carnal ecstasy that simmer beneath it. Holy Ghost Girl is also a cautionary tale of preachers whose followers elevate them to a godhood then blind themselves to their leader's often extravagant sins."
—Julia Scheeres, author of New York Times bestseller Jesus Land
"A brilliant and beautiful story of people who passionately loved God and broke his commandments in almost every way possible. The kind of story the Bible is full of, told with rare compassion and grace."
—Christine Wicker, author of Lily Dale: The True Story of the Town that Talks to the Dead and God Knows My Heart
"I read this gorgeous book with a hand to my throat, at once drawn to and repulsed by the story of Donna Johnson's coming of age underneath a revivalist tent. Hers was a bizarro world, and yet her voice is lush and clear and full of compassion."
—Karen Valby, author of Welcome to Utopia
"A wrenching and extraordinarily beautiful memoir. If you're a fan of The Glass Castle, you'll be mesmerized by Donna M. Johnson's true-life tale of how her young life was upended by her mother's love affair with an infamous charismatic preacher."
—Lisa Napoli, author of Radio Shangri-La
"Holy Ghost Girl is a wonder of a book. Chief among its marvels is how clear-eyed and deeply compassionate Johnson is as she recounts what it was like to grow up believing all things are possible and how hard it was to leave that harsh and deeply flawed paradise to become a part of the world in all its ‘gaudy glory.’ With evocatively precise details, fond humor, and an utter lack of scorn or cynicism, Johnson accomplishes the camel-through-the-eye-of-a-needle miracle of rendering the world through the eyes of a young child. Arriving at a time when the war between fact and faith is escalating, Holy Ghost Girl is a book that people will be talking about."
—Sarah Bird, author of The Gap Year
"This is a thoroughly provocative memoir. Memoirs don’t usually resist the obvious. This one does. You won’t find Donna M. Johnson dithering in anger, cynicism, or self-pity. Holy Ghost Girl is a sensitive exploration of the power that inheres in faith communities, however flawed."
—Rhoda Janzen, author of New York Times bestseller Mennonite in a Little Black Dress
"Compulsively readable"
—Texas Monthly
"A trustworthy narrator, Johnson is consistently funny, poetic and remarkably devoid of bitterness."
—Kirkus Reviews
"What a life! Holy Ghost Girl takes you inside a world where God and sin and miracles and deceit and love are so jumbled together you can’t tell them apart. Donna Johnson sorts through her story with great insight, compassion and humor, giving us an indelible portrait of a charismatic preacher and the faithful who so desperately believed in him."
—Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses
"Sensitive and revelatory…an impressive achievement of perspective and maturity…a haunting and memorable book."
—Bookpage
