Stepping Heavenward
Elizabeth Prentiss.
Calvary Press: Box 805, Amityville, NY 11701
275 pages

The idea of reading a woman's diary is intriguing, and Elizabeth Prentiss has successfully made her main character, Katherine, so real and so vulnerable, that one has to remind oneself that it is fiction! The book consists of Katherine's journal entries from age 16 until near the time of her death.

It is inspiring to read about this young nineteenth-century woman's spiritual journey. Her writings are composed of her thoughts and those of people who have helped her step heavenward. One can easily identify with her struggles to aspire to godliness in the midst of everyday irritations. She recounts her efforts to control her speech, her devotional life, and her selfishness, among other things.

The descriptions of life in the 1800s are so vivid that when one picks up this book, it is imaginable to feel the bumps in the road when riding in a horse-drawn wagon, and feel the pain of a friend dying from a disease that would be easily cured today.

Anyone will be able to appreciate Katherine's penned thoughts. Sometimes she enters them in her journal daily, sometimes monthly, and occasionally there are years between entries. But as one progresses through her musings, one gains insight into the maturing process of the woman. God's grace becomes more and more evident in her with each life-altering experience.

Particularly inspiring to this reviewer was reading about how Katherine changed from selfish to selfless in every aspect of her life, from how she related to her husband to performing tasks she would rather not have done, such as visit the sick and the poor.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Those who enjoy meaty doctrinal works will find much sound theology in this work. And those who prefer to read just for relaxation and recreation will appreciate the flow of the storyline. It is a difficult book to lay down once you start reading it. It is a very edifying piece of literature.