Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous, Scandalous Story of Aimee Semple McPherson

Journalist Hoffman (Greetings from Utopia Park) captures the details of the extraordinary, sometimes controversial life of Aimee Semple McPherson (1890–1944), called America’s most famous woman evangelist. She came from humble beginnings on a farm in Ontario but was never one to let circumstances or societal expectations limit her. After revival tents and missionary work in China, ringing bells for the Salvation Army in NYC, and traveling the U.S. as an itinerant preacher, McPherson’s penchant for spectacle and storytelling eventually led her to Los Angeles, where in 1923 the Pentecostal evangelist established what could be considered the first American megachurch, plus her own radio station. Though she was dogged in her later years by rumors of scandal and allegations of moral impropriety, she stayed at the helm of her ministry until her death.