The Gospel According to Sasha Renee

by Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts, Tracey Michae'l Lewis

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Chicago, 2006

Feisty and stubborn Sasha Billingsly has never had it easy. As a young girl growing up in the shadow of a mother’s expectations and the absence of a father’s love, she learned early on that she was going to have to please people in order to gain love and acceptance…or find ways to make people dislike her so she could prove they’re out to get her.

That is, until God intervened profoundly in her life, delivering both the help of a soulmate, Langston Germaine, and the unseen forces of the spirit realm…

Three generations of women. Three generations of trauma and pain. A three-generation journey to victory and joy.

The Gospel of Grace Women Trilogy is the compilation of three separate The Gospel According to Sasha Renee, The Gospel According to Crystal Justine, and The Next Thing is The Gospel According to Vivian Grace.

Genres: Audiobook

186 pages, Audible Audio

Published May 20, 2025

About the author

As a writer and thought-leader, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts offers those who read her work and hear her speak an authentic experience; an opportunity to explore the intersection of culture, identity and faith/spirituality at the deepest levels. She is the host of the podcast, HeARTtalk with Tracey Michae’l, and founder of HeARTspace, a healing community created to serve those who have experienced trauma of any kind through the use of storytelling and the arts.

As a writer, Tracey has published 25 books including several collaborations with numerous high-profile authors. Calling herself a “literary midwife,” this NY Times Bestselling author is a highly sought-after ghostwriter/collaborator whose work includes Feeding the Soul and I Did a New Thing by Tabitha Brown, Better Not Bitter by Yusef Salaam, Sideshow by Rickey Smiley, and many others.

In 2021, Tracey became one of 20 writers who contributed to the groundbreaking book, You are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience edited by acclaimed researcher, Brene Brown, and founder of the MeToo Movement, Tarana Burke.

In 2022, Tracey’s critically-acclaimed book, Black Joy: Stories of Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration (Gallery/Simon and Schuster) was published and in 2023 won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Instructional. Black Joy has received rave reviews from celebrities like Kerry Washington, literary authors like Kiese Laymon and Deesha Philyaw, and media outlets like Good Morning America, Essence Magazine, and USA Today.

Tracey’s book, Then They Came for Mine: Healing from the Trauma of Racial Violence (WJK), examines the source and impact of racial violence against Black people in all its forms and offers a blueprint for the way the Christian Church can help facilitate healing. Then They Came for Mine has won the 2023 Wilbur Award, the highest honor given by the Religion Communicators Council, for excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes, in public media.

Most recently, Tracey’s dynamic journal/daily devotional, The Black Joy Playbook: 30 Days of Intentionally Reclaiming Your Delight released on October 29, 2024.

Tracey has spoken on a number of platforms around the country on topics related to race/social justice, healing, and faith/spirituality. Additionally, her freelance work has been published in print and online publications such as Oprah Daily, The Washington Post, Essence Magazine, The Guardian, The Chronicle for Higher Education, Ebony Magazine, TheRoot.com, and more.

Reviews

[Victoria Tezangi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most beautifully honest book I have read this year. Diving into this audiobook I was captured by how quickly I was hooked by not just the story but Sasha as a character. Set in 2006 a woman in her late twenties invites us into her life which is full of a beautiful friendships, not so beautiful friendships, enemies, a difficult ex, and a very eventful dating life. Struggling to deal with growing up in she shadows of her mothers expectations and an absent father Sasha is a complex character we fall in love with so easily. She's not perfect and that is what makes her so special. She battles between believing she needs to be a people pleaser or simply find ways to make people dislike her so she can prove a bigger point and her vulnerability to us as the reader is something so special.

Realising early on her current relationship is no longer serving her and finally breaking free from it life is opening a new chapter for Sasha Renee but her guard may slowly be falling down when she meets Langston Germaine and the complicated way the meet and grow together.

I loved Sasha Renee. She was a character who honestly felt like my sister or a best friend and when she was addressing the reader it felt personal, like listening to a voice note from a friend or reading a diary. She was honest and raw and I honestly felt as though she was so well written she felt like a real person I wanted a conversation with however, when speaking to characters in the book we can see how guarded she is and what she hides. We see throughout the book that while she comes across as confident she has a lot of insecurities too which show throughout her friendships and building romantic relationships.

I did feel as though the book half way through moved very quickly which threw me a little and I wasn't the biggest fan of Langston at times as a romantic partner but he grew on me and I loved the almost thriller vibe we got in parts of this book related to her previous relationships touching so well on male rejection, entitlement, abuse and violence. There were some very serious topics we saw pop up and the very real feeling of this book was a breathe of fresh air. This was a raw and real story that did not hide away from the very real lows and highs of life. The focus on friendships, god and self growth and love was truly captivating and I was left wanting nothing but the best for Sasha Renee and I was of course crying my eyes out when I finished this book.

The audio narration was fantastic! Full of character and delivering the humour focused lines so well I was able to fly through this book.

[Shauntelle (shauntellereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so beautifully written. I found myself laughing at certain parts and crying at others.

The Gospel According to Sasha Renee is a deeply personal journey through the life, love, loss, and liberation of a woman who refuses to be silenced. The MFC, Sasha Renee, invited us intimately into her world — one where faith and feminism coexist, where trauma is confronted with bold honesty, and where healing is a sacred, messy, beautiful act of resistance. Sasha is a complex and fierce main female character, and I quickly related to and fell in love with her.

As many adults, Sasha is trying to break free from the way she was raised - having to live up to her mother's expectations. With an absent father growing up, we see Sasha trying to navigate adulthood while finding her way towards being herself. She is in a relationship that is no longer serving her, and she decides to end things. After some time has passed, she meets and falls in love with Langston. There is plenty of drama and turmoil as we get to follow Sasha through her everyday life. There are realistic and relatable scenarios in her family life, her friendships and romantic relationships.

This book hit me hard — in the best way. Sasha doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and that’s what makes her words so powerful. It felt like I was sitting across from a wise, hilarious, no-nonsense best friend who told me the truth even when it hurt — but somehow made it feel healing. I saw parts of myself in her struggles, in her defiance, and in her grace. Sasha comes across as fierce and confident, but like many of us, she internally deals with insecurities.

What I loved most is how Sasha reclaims her own gospel by the end of the story. The ending completely caught me off guard and made my breath hitch! If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t fit into the boxes the world gave you, this book is for you. If you’ve ever needed a reminder that your story matters and your voice deserves to be heard — this is it. Please read this book!

Bahni Turpin, as always, did a phenomenal job narrating and bringing these characters to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

[Lovee Lonii · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing Sasha gone do is throw up! 😂 as bad as she got on my nerves & I wanted Langston’s churchy self for myself, I enjoyed this read and its relatable ups and downs. I laughed out loud, rolled my eyes, and even threw my hands in the air a time or two to rejoice.

The ending was a plot twist, for sure. I’m still deciding if I like it or not.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sasha seemed disrespectful to her boss and angry about how things were going in her life at the start of the book. She also seemed like a stereotype of a black woman, rather than a well rounded black female character at the start of the book (e.g. she watches Oprah, she calls the black guy she’s in a romantic relationship with brother, she refers to her boss internally as ‘white woman, please’ and she has a religious Christian mother she’s trying to break free from, she winds up in a romance initially with an aggressive black guy with no self-control and she is called girl by her group of female besties). Sasha also seemed to believe Michelle was jealous of her on top of her boss being jealous of her because they had friction too. It seems jealousy is her go to explanation for any interpersonal issues she experiences with another woman. I also didn’t have much respect for Sasha as a character at the start in that the reason she wasn’t running a Beauty Salon already was because she’d wasted her scholarship by partying and not working hard. I don’t understand how someone who was the first in her family to go to school on a scholarship could value her education so little that she wastes the opportunity and I don’t understand why that’s supposed to make the reader sympathise with the character when it’s entirely her own fault she got herself into the mess she is in now. “The dating pool has pee in it” made me laugh though. I didn’t understand how Sasha could even consider getting back together with a guy who had been so aggressive that he’d taken a knife to her apartment though. Surely she understands that’s not safe? I did like the story better when I got to the second part and it moved into the section about Langston and Sasha‘s relationship. There were some references to Christian characters seeking guidance from other spiritual sources such as palm reading and tarot. Sasha not mentioning Mark as a suspect to the police was clearly unwise and she should have reported the threats earlier as well as telling Langston earlier. Sasha still didn’t seem to have learnt the importance of open communication and honesty or being wise when she meets with Mark and hides it from Langston… as a result she even dies and misses out on her daughter’s whole life.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this audiobook, it may be one I will forget the name of in the future however it had such a beautiful impact and the voice of Bahni Turpin was like listening to gospel just absolutely beautiful!

In this we meet Sasha who is fiercely passionate about being herself with the audience however in public to everyone else not so much because well she was raised to simply get up and get on with things. You don’t complain and you don’t show your softness etc but within all this all she really is looking for is acceptance and love. Unfortunately she looks for it in all the wrong places with the wrong people.

She goes through all types of things from love dilemmas, childhood wounds with both parents to friends who are actually frienemys it’s all in there!

So within her story we find her talking almost as if it is journal entries and expressing all her deepest emotions, her lessons, her understanding of self and others and her compassion to forgive, grow and move on.

This is just a beautiful cozy warm fuzzy heartfelt audiobook that really makes you refill your cup of faith in all that is good 🫶🏽 Not to forget it’s also funny at points and takes you back a bit with some nostalgia depending on your age range 😂

Huge gratitude and thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ELC in return for an honest review. Wishing best wishes to all for publication on 20th May 🙏🏽📚🎧❤️

[Markita_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ａｕｄｉｏｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟🌟🌟🌟|| (4/5)
The Gospel According to Sasha Renee by Tracey Michae'l Lewis-Giggetts is book 1 in the Grace Women's Trilogy.

Honey, Sasha worked my nerves the entire book. She is very relatable, but man, she made me mad. This book is about Sasha handling tests of faith, Sasha's insecurities toward relationships, and her negative thinking/mind spiraling out of control. I wanted to like her, but every time she did something, she just irritated me. Lol. But I enjoyed this book a lot. I finished it in 1.5 days.

Feisty and stubborn Sasha Billingsly has never had it easy. As a young girl growing up in the shadow of her mother's expectations and the absence of a father's love, she learned early on that she would have to please people to gain love and acceptance…or find ways to make people dislike her so she could prove they were out to get her.

That is, until God intervened profoundly in her life, delivering both the help of a soulmate, Langston Germaine, and the unseen forces of the spirit realm.

The audiobook is narrated by Bahni Turpin, who did a good job telling the story and bringing the characters to life. She was easy to listen to and understand. Listened at 2x speed.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished and I am not ok. That ending shocked the hell out of me.

Someone posted this book in our BGRT FB group so I decided to give it a listen. This is a beautifully written book and is narrated by the fabulous Bahni Turpin. I don’t realize it was a re-release audio version, this book was written 20 years ago. It’s the 1st book in a 3-book series.

Sasha is a young woman who suffers from the disease to please and perfectionism. She presents as beautiful and perfect on the outside, but she is a woman with a crisis of faith and does everything to feel loved. She ends a 2 year relationship when she finally realizes that he’s no good for her. This will come back to haunt her.

Langston sees her on campus one day and believes she is his soulmate. He is a man with strong faith as all he wants to do is love and protect her. She puts him through the wringer but eventually she lets him love her.

I was not prepared for what happened to her and can understand why she felt the way she did about God, but I wanted to wrap my hands around her neck and shake her because her pride and stubbornness caused her to make so many dumb decisions.

The moral of the story is listen to your spirit, call it intuition or that nudge from God, but stop and listen. On to book 2.

[Nae Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew, this book got me together in the best way possible. I flew through it, and not just because the story was good (which it absolutely was), but because it hit on some real truths. You know when you go to church and the sermon makes you feel like the pastor is talking directly to you? Reading this book felt exactly like that.

It’s a raw and honest reminder of how powerful discernment really is. That little voice in your head? That gut feeling? Yeah, it’s not just being dramatic, it’s trying to save you. And this book shows exactly what happens when we ignore it and let our past hurts steer the wheel.

What really hit me was how easy it is to assume everyone’s out to hurt us, when we’re the ones building the walls, handing out the bricks, and then wondering why we feel stuck. The self-sabotage was on display and super relatable.

If you’re in the mood for something that’s real, reflective, and might snatch your edges just a little bit, this one’s it. 10/10 would recommend. Just be ready to sit with some feelings!

[Bookskee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.

I'll start off by saying that this book will probably be mostly relatable to people with a Christian/religious background.

I really enjoyed this story of our FMC Sasha.
She's done her best in life to be accommodating to people, works hard on her appearance and enjoys the company of her friends.
She breaks up with her boyfriend Mark and he is awful to her. She knows that she should hold on the the 'christian, good-girl beliefs" she grew up with and listen to the spirit but really, she's just seems to have lost faith in that. Till she meets Langston.
I loved that there was a forbidden tint at the beginning of their meeting and I loved the way Langston showed her he cared for her and loved her. Helping her and trying to guide her closer to God along the way.

I loved her chats and time with her girls. And I am really looking forward to the other books in the series.

I love the Narrating by Bahni Turpin!

That ending though?

Many thanks to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media and Author for the opportunity to listen and share my thoughts.

[Charis · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ – The Gospel According to Sasha Renee

This book takes readers on a powerful spiritual journey through the eyes of Sasha Billingsly, a young woman navigating love, identity, and faith across generations of women in her family. Set in Chicago, the story dives into some heavy but important themes—mental health, trauma, and the process of healing.

I really enjoyed the overall concept and thought the narrator brought a lot of emotion and depth to the story. The spiritual elements and unseen forces guiding Sasha were beautifully written and added a unique layer to her journey.

That said, Sasha could be a bit frustrating at times—stubborn and impulsive—but her flaws also made her feel more human and relatable. I appreciated that her path to faith wasn’t instant; we got to see her wrestle, grow, and find her own way.

It’s a bold take on Christian fiction that offers something different, especially in its honest portrayal of transformation and pain.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first want to add this disclaimer. This is the audio version of a book published in the early 2000's, so some if it is outdated (for example, the mention of Dominick's on 87th street in Chicago, that particular chain is no longer around. but it was during the original publication ) Now back to this story. I read it when it first came out, and I enjoyed it as much as i did back then. The story still shocked me and left me flabbergasted. Sasha was so relatable, and she worked my nerves sometimes. This story had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I completed it in an entire day. And the characters have stuck in my mind after finishing it. The author has been one of my favorites for a while and this story is part of the reason why.

[Traci Henriksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book!

I try to read books by black authors from time to time because I have black adopted children. I really liked how the underlying theme of generational trauma in the black community was portrayed. I loved the romantic honeymoon part where they referred to Song of Solomon. It was a beautifully written scene in the book. I also cannot explain how well the description of “The Spirit” parallels with how The Spirit works in my own life.

The only reason I didn’t give this book a 5 star review is because the main character made me MAD in a few parts of the book.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐
This was such a heartfelt audiobook.

Sasha has invited us into her life, and what a life she's had - a busy dating life, difficult exes, beautiful and ugly friendships; childhood trauma.

Such a roller coaster, but one I'd ride again.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media/Dreamscape First for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Rochelle Bryant Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ALC REVIEW

This was a nice listen.

Sasha is fresh out of a bad relationship that her mother tried to warn her about. She’s on a quest to find love while navigating through her insecurities and life.

Thank you Netgalley for the ALC

[Althea Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly the saddest book I've read in a long time. I was definitely moved.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but they won’t give us 1/2 stars

[Hyacinth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I didn't know I needed. Again, this was a book that called to me. As i started reading it, I thought I had made a mistake because it started very, very slow for me. Things were just different in this read. What I will stand ten toes down for is the absolute need for sister circles and a safe place for accountability. We are so prone to a happily ever after that when we get something different, it gives us pause. Sasha worked my entire nerves. Mark and Michelle were a match made in hell. I knew Mark was foul, but I didn't know to what degree. I actually cried! This book definitely needs to be talked about. I am also glad to see more books talk about mental health issues.