The Hallelujah Side

“It had been a Second Coming sky all day, which meant they might be in heaven by this evening.” So begins the story of Roxanne Fish, daughter of Sister Zelda Fish and Pastor Winston Fish of the First Assembly of God Church of Ames, Iowa. Roxanne, caught between childhood and womanhood, finds herself pulled between a robust interest in life on earth and the work of being prepared to ascend in the Rapture, where she will live in heaven as an immortal being with her beloved family. Heaven does have one problem: the food, boring manna, it’s the only thing the immortals eat—for eternity. To compensate, Roxy anxiously eats Velveeta cheese in case they should ascend this evening. While Roxy prays, without ceasing to get saved, she longs, in the same breath, to wear high heels, have breasts, and marry Elvis Presley when she grows up. If she grows up. The Fishes’ older daughter, Colleen, wants no part of the family’s exuberant faith, but Roxy keeps a practical eye on Christian women with full skirts in case she needs to grab on at the waist to be dragged up to Heaven at the last minute. Surrounded by the magic of Pentecost—a talking hedge, a sky where Christians can fly if their faith is sufficient, a healing uncle who prays not only for people but for cows and trees—Roxy’s choice between the heaven track and her earthly interests seems impossible until she discovers her own particular salvation—with an assist from the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin. Roxy’s story is as fresh as it is unforgettable.