Susannah Spurgeon: Lessons for a Life of Joyful Eagerness in Christ

by Mary K Mohler

Have you heard of Spurgeon?

Preacher, evangelist and stalwart patriarch of the Modern Western Church today. If the cliché ‘behind every great man is a strong woman’, is true, then Susannah Spurgeon remains one of the matriarchs of the same tradition.

Spurgeon was the bone companion of her husband. As a pastoral assistant, as Charles’ wife and support through trials, this woman’s biography has been a long time coming.

Mary Mohler has gathered information on Susie from sources spanning letters, devotionals and biographies. The result is a thoughtful, sympathetic and endearing epitaph to a sister in Christ, whose voice can no longer be ignored. Mohler allows room for academics, mothers, daughters and wives to dwell on Spurgeon’s joyful eagerness in Christ.

Genres: Biography, Christian, Womens

175 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2023

Reviews

[Sophia Lewis]

GOLD! It seemed like the Lord placed this book in my hand for this specific season of life. I was incredibly encouraged and my heart was uplifted greatly. Here are just a few quotes that stood out although there were just so many, it was hard to choose:

(Referring to being Charles’s wife) “I deemed it my joy and privilege to be ever at his side, accompanying him on many of his preaching journeys, nursing him in his occasional illnesses, —his delighted companion during his holiday trips, always watching over and tending him with the enthusiasm and sympathy which my great love for him inspired. I mention this, not to suggest any sort of merit in my part, but simply that I may here record my heartfelt gratitude to God that, for a period of ten blessed years, I was permitted to encircle him with all the comforting care and tender affection which it was in a wife’s power to bestow.”

“Come my heart, cheer up! In a little while I shall be as glad as I am now gloomy. Jesus tells me that by a heavenly alchemy my sorrow shall be turned into joy. I do not see how it is to be, but I believe it, and I begin to sing by way of anticipation. The depression of spirit is not for long, for I shall soon be among the happy ones who praise the Lord day and night, and there I shall sing of the mercy which delivered me out of great afflictions.” - C.H. Spurgeon

“Thy loving hand only takes away that it may give more abundantly; it doth but deliver us from the sour waters of earthly ease, or unprofitable prosperity, that we may find our fresh springs in Thyself alone, and be content only with the depths of joy in the river of the water of life!”

[Kristi Jett]

I really wanted to like this book, but I struggled with large portions of it. I did not expect the author to write about herself so much throughout the book. I realize I did not pay attention closely enough to the reviews to realize Mary Mohler was going to compare her life and circumstances so much to Susannah Spurgeons. She also used lots of flowery, emotional language which I personally find distracting. She also speculated a great deal, saying things such as, “we don’t know what Susie thought, but we might suppose she thought…” For me personally, I prefer facts rather than suppositions. However, it was obvious the author greatly admired Susannah Spurgeon and spent a good amount of time researching her life. The best parts of the book, in my opinion, were the quotes from letters or writings from Susannah or Charles. I struggled with my rating because I personally did not enjoy the book, but I also don’t think it’s a bad book. It simply wasn’t what I expected. I thought it would include more facts than speculation.

[Sophie Miller]

4.75 stars. A well done intro to the life of my spiritual hero (and my daughter’s namesake). I commend this little book to you with gratitude that another book is being written about the lady who has so deeply impacted my own journey with the Lord. But if you must pick between this and one of Susannah Spurgeon’s own books, I hope you pick the latter. They’re just so timeless and loaded with “golden nuggets of mercy” that help us see and exalt Christ more.

Regardless, I highly recommend this pink book, full of wisdom, truth, and snippets of Al and Mary Mohler’s own story throughout (although not nearly as much as I desired).

[Amanda Matthews]

This book is not a biography of Susannah Spurgeon’s life and should not be entered into with that mindset. It contains many (many) quotes from both Spurgeon’s and other true biographies. I found the author’s style to drone on for perhaps too long…

[Becky]

This book was good, although not the best well-written. It read more like a research paper for a college class. The author is Baptist and makes sure that the reader knows that the Spurgeons were Baptists as well. However, the information about the Spurgeons was interesting and there is good insight into Susannah Spurgeon and how she sacrificed much for the sake of her husband's ministry and the advancement of the gospel. There were a lot of questions asked that remained unanswered and speculation into Susannah Spurgeon's thoughts. What I enjoyed the most in this book were the excerpts from devotions that Susannah Spurgeon wrote.

[Deborah Williams]

Sadly it's a Did Not Finish for me. I've just abandoned it on page 42.
If you want to read a biography of Susannah Spurgeon, this is not the book. That's what I was hoping for... The author tells a LOT of personal anecdotes. For example, when she is writing about how Susannah and Charles met and married, she also tells the story about how she met her own husband. There is a lot of that. It seems the author is also married to a pastor and the book draws a lot of parallels between her own life and Susannah's.
It's not for me.

[Grady Adams]

A Biography Of A Proverbs 31 Woman

Mrs. Mohler not only did us men a great favor in writing this biography of Susannah Spurgeon, but every Christian lady should read and learn from her life. She was a remarkable Godly lady and walked as her husband’s helpmate as Scripture commands. She was an example for all of us that are followers of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, to live holy, righteous, productive lives for our KING. I highly recommend this to all Christians, but especially to those ladies that are married to men called to lead the sheep!!

[Lisa Castro]

Mary Mohler does an excellent job sharing about the life of Susannah Spurgeon. Throughout the story, she encourages the reader to reflect on our own lives and how we can be encouraged to faithfully love Christ and the church more. She ends with some excerpts from a devotional written by Susie. I didn’t know anything about Susie prior to reading this, so I learned a lot and was encouraged by her story and the author’s reflections.

[Tristian Moon]

I really liked this book! Mrs. Mary writes in a way that feels like you are just chatting over coffee. She tells Susannah’s story well and incorporates some of her own experiences as the wife of a well-known pastor and theologian. Definitely recommend this book for learning more about Susannah Spurgeon’s life and important legacy!

[Hannah Taylor]

really enjoyed this one, such a lovely read about the wife of an incredible preacher. Lots of good valuable lessons to be learned about fixing our eyes on our Lord, and following his path for our lives.

[Jessica Bunce]

A wonderful and inspiring devotional look into the life of Susannah Spurgeon. Read and be blessed.

[Ruthe Turner]

It was inspirational to read how Susie Surgeon truly lived "with a joyful eagerness." In the process, she is a wonderful example of accomplishing things of great worth, even when basically bed-ridden, and then later a grieving widow.
The budding love relationship between her and the great Charles E. Spurgeon is sweet and heart-warming and continued their entire marriage.
The author chose to insert her own life experiences throughout the book, giving the book a dual purpose - to share the life of Susie and to instruct and encourage current minister wives.