The Wrong Side of Eternity: 
​A Passion Play

This 'present-day passion' story is set in the overlapping worlds
of West Coast America and Rural Uganda between the late 1970s and 2001. 
Here, Andrew Greeley’s spiritually-spiced narrative style joins with a setting similar
to Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible and LeCarre's The Constant Gardener. 

The book's depth, intrigue, and tantalizing use of symbol will engage readers who marvel at human resilience in the face of tragedy, appealing to anyone
who feels marginalized in a complex world.  In contrast to entirely horrific accounts of Rwanda’s genocide, it dares to offer situational humor, insight, and Hope.

"Mendenhall definitely knows how to write."  
        -- New York Literary Review ​ 
2016 Pinnacle Award for historical fiction     
2017-2018 Finalist, multi-cultural fiction  (Best Book & Book Excellence Awards) 
2023:  MAINCREST MEDIA AWARD

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Reviews: 

"Masterfully written and well-conceived, The Wrong Side of Eternity is an important, thought-provoking novel with staying power. 
Mendenhall skillfully layers powerful dramatic details into this emotionally-stirring tale.
Both the setting and complex characters are vividly drawn and believable, making for an engrossing read." 
                                           - NY Literary Magazine
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"This is such a great read; my heart is wrung out... You know your subject, the places and the time,
yet there's no self-satisfied ego there, no neatly anticipated sweet resolutions. 
​There's irony, but it's relevant. We are empowered to connect."
                                  --- M. Dewey-Tudor, artist, upon beta-reading the manuscript
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​Kirkus Reviews (excerpt):
“This novel, set alternately in Uganda and California,
​offers a paradigm of struggle between faith and the secular world…
A demanding but rewarding religious story.” 
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​"...Ranging from the African continent's blazing sun to the wave-caressed shores of America's West Coast, two different worlds and the people who sometimes occupy both are explored in this novel's examination of relationships, religion, and life.  Author Mendenhall weaves the disparate stories of these souls together [with] engaging prose and believable dialogue.  While she unspools her characters' physical fate, she also illuminates each of her major player's particular relationship with God and the role belief has in guiding one's life instead of merely coping with it. 

​ This is not the kind of novel one finds a lot of these days,
 making it the kind of novel worth finding."
           
​-- Joe Kilgore, The US Review of Books

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​
to right:  initial cover concept, 1999
​below:  temporarily published by ARP cover 

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