MAGGIE'S STORY
Dandi Daley Mackall
Tyndale House Publishers
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1414309783
ISBN-13: 9781414309781
320 pages

Author Dandi Daley Mackall creates the scene for a modern-day Mary Magdalene to walk today's streets, face contemporary society's struggles, and finally be confronted with Jesus. While Mackall imaginatively fills in the missing spaces where the Bible doesn't, she is careful to draw on what scripture does reveal. It is known that Mary Magdalene, along with other women, did travel with Christ and the disciples as Jesus taught the people. Mackall also cites several scripture references upon which she based some of the events of her story. Fact: according to Luke 8, Jesus did cast out seven demons from Mary; Mary was by the cross at Jesus's crucifixion; Mary was one of the first to go to the tomb and find it empty; and Mary was the first to see the resurrected Christ (John 19-20).

Readers will appreciate how Mackall tells Maggie's story with all the internal angst, grit and realism of a young woman who has been neglected, discarded, rejected and fallen away from "normal" society. Maggie, a waitress at a local bar, is tough, wizened and cynical. During her shift, she can handle whatever is thrown her way. Once home (home being a dingy second-hand apartment), Maggie looks for an escape and every night finds it through several hours of male companionship and a mix of alcohol and drugs. Despite her inner hopelessness, she forces herself to compose heartfelt letters to "Chance," her aborted son, confessing and pleading pathetic words that erupt from her broken heart.

Then one day, a friend tells Maggie about a man she has met. Unlike other men from Maggie's past, Joshua (Jesus) changes the lives of those who hear him for good. Maggie is skeptical but inwardly is drawn to Josh. Wrestling between guilt and fear, Maggie forces herself to take the plunge of faith and follow Josh. Maggie learns and listens, and is forgiven. Soon, Maggie joins other believers who have given up their livelihoods to join Josh's crusade. They take on the state of Ohio, traveling from city to city to preach the Gospel, heal the sick and rebuke the pharisaical religious folk.

Every reader knows how the story ends. Josh is summarily executed while Maggie and the other disciples scramble to make sense of his death. The final scene poignantly wraps up the biblical story of Christ's resurrection and how his appearance to Maggie (Mary) readied her to go and tell his story to the world.

Mackall does an admirable job of getting inside Maggie's heart and mind, and the vulnerability she brings to this biblical character is compelling.

   --- Reviewed by Michele Howe

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