5 Times Pastah Took Me to Church

AshleyNicole’s Take Me to Church is a contemporary read about two individuals, Neriah and Dion, who find themselves unexpectedly falling in love. Dion, a pastor of his church, was not looking for love at all. Like, at. all. And neither was Neriah. Actually, meeting Dion in person wasn’t planned. After appeasing her mother’s desire for Neriah to attend church in person rather than online, she instantaneously became attracted to the pastor.

After fighting their desires for a while, the pastor approached Neriah and proposed that they take a shot at a real relationship. Luckily for the both of them, that was the best decision. Here’s why:

1.) Clearly, homegirl was overly attracted to this man. Why deprive yourself of something you know you want?

2.) Pastah had been celibate for eight years. EIGHT. YEARS., and Neriah never once tempted him or tried to convince him to drop the draws. That’s a win for him. Anyone who’ll let you be you for you without trying to change you should be in your life. PERIODT.

3.) Speaking of that, pastah is truly a great man. He constantly had Neriah’s back, even if it had the potential of making him look bad. He stood up to his congregation and always encouraged her to be herself, despite others’ criticisms.

4.) Pastah’s mom was the most. She always had her nose in her son’s business. Although it bothered him, he never really addressed it until she crossed the line by confronting Neriah. Any man who’ll stand up to their parents for you is a WINNER.

5.) Once Neriah shared her past traumas with pastah, he recommended that not only she openly express her frustrations with her parents, but he also recommended that she seek outside help. Being able to recognize when your partner needs help is HUGE, and what’s even bigger is when they have enough courage to tell you that you may need to see someone. I think this was my favorite thing he did. Why? Because traditionally, Black people go to the church for mental health issues. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it's possible to seek spiritual guidance in addition to mental health services. The fact that that he is a PASTOR telling his other half to seek help…made me wanna shout.

Have you read this book or any of the other books in this series? What are your thoughts?