The Day After His Crucifixion by Merikay McLeod Book Review

About the Novella:

At last the women speak. While the crucifixion/resurrection event is traditionally told through men's eyes, The Day After His Crucifixion brings Yeshua the Nazarene's story alive through the testimony of women who knew him and followed his teachings.

Shocked by his brutal execution, these New Testament eye witnesses gather to comfort one another and remind themselves of how Yeshua set them free, bringing them life abundant.

Peter's mother-in-law, the woman with the flow of blood, the crippled woman bent double, the bride whose wedding feast was saved by Yeshua playfully changing water into wine, and several others gather to share food and tender memories of their beloved Promised One.

Through their words familiar gospel stories spring to life.

My Review:

This is a great novella. We are familiar with reading the crucifixion and resurrection accounts from the male perspective. This novella gives the many women involved a voice of their own. McLeod incorporates biblical accounts with her imaginative take on what some of the women might have experienced and felt. We really get a clear sense of the expectations for what the Messiah would do and then the ache and questions after the crucifixion.

Two of the women's stories really stood out to me. One was that of the woman caught in adultery. Wow. McLeod's imaginative backstory really puts a different take on that biblical event. Another woman's story of great impact was that of the mother of the boy with the few loaves of bread and fish from which Jesus fed thousands. McLeod imagines her thoughts kneading the bread, preparing food for her family. That her common labor for her family would be used by Jesus was just an amazing story.

I highly recommend this novella. It highlights how Jesus treated women, respecting them, never ignoring them and never turning them away. The Author's Note at the end is a good resource for identifying the Scriptures upon which McLeod's stories are based. There are also questions for deeper study so this novella would make a good personal or group study. It provides a new take on familiar stories yielding insights I never would have seen on my own.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

About the Author:

A Midwesterner by birth, Merikay McLeod spent most of her adulthood in northern California where she worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor, newspaper columnist and freelance writer. Her articles and stories have won state and national awards, Her freelance work has appeared in such magazines as Good housekeeping, MS, Sunday digest, Insight, The chronicle of Higher Education and many others.

Her walk with Jesus is expressed most accurately by the 23rd Psalm. She has long pondered Jesus' respectful treatment of women despite the surrounding culture's view that women were inferior. The Day After His Crucifixion is her first fiction book. 

Front Porch Publishing, 111 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this novella through WOW Women on Writing. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)