I Say a Prayer for Me: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph.

by Stanice Anderson Warner Books, November 2002 $21.95, ISBN 0-446-53034-4

If you've ever doubted God's goodness, grace and mercy, then I Say a Prayer for Me by Stanice Anderson will erase those uncertainties--forever. That is, if you have the patience to wade through Anderson's story. The book--part memoir, part self-help--comes agonizingly close to fulfilling its mission, but not close enough to successfully make it a gripping read.

Anderson's journey from a hopeless, heroin addict to a born-again Christian is told in a series of vignettes, whose impact is diminished by not being told in chronological order. The first time we meet Anderson she is on heroin, thus anticipating a story about her harrowing ride into the abyss of drug addiction that will ultimately lead to her recovery and redemption. Instead, Anderson simply digresses.

No doubt, Anderson has been through a lot. As a teenager she was raped by three men, she suffered abuse in her middle-class household, and as a result, endured the perils of drug addiction. She finally surrendered to God after a fateful encounter on the 700 Club religious television show. Understandably, Anderson is reluctant to share intimate details of her life. And without those intimate details, it is difficult to appreciate her moments of joy and celebration. What is absent from I Say a Prayer for Me is how her life as an African-American woman affected her road to recovery, if at all. Without this critical subtext, the book leaves many unanswered questions.

Nevertheless, the book's greatest strength lies in Anderson's message to those in need of spiritual guidance during difficult times: "It's not all about me."

Each chapter concludes by encouraging the reader to engage introspectively, offering a prayer and scripture, and inviting them to accept God's goodness. Anyone who finds herself (or himself) in a seemingly hopeless situation will profit from Anderson's story.

--Alvelyn I. Sanders is a reporter for Atlanta's NPR station WABE-FM.