Meet the women who traveled with Jesus in local author's newest book

Framed by rows of books in her West Salem home, award-winning author Dandi Daley Mackall acknowledged, "I have so many books."

Mackall has written more than 500 for every age group and genre.

It's not hard to believe she writes full-time on a daily basis, but there is even more to her work than that.

Years of research into historical and cultural records of the time period in which Jesus lived offered the backdrop for her most recent offering, "Women Who Followed Jesus: 40 Devotions on the Journey to Easter."

Mackall illuminates the lives of first-century women who accompanied Jesus all the way to the Cross with the anticipation the reader can identify with their hopes, dreams and struggles and see them as not so very different from us today.

She has received good feedback about the "pondering" section of each chapter, which asks the reader questions to help them personally apply the stories of the Easter season.

The public will have the opportunity to interact with Mackall at a free event featuring her and her new book at the Ashland Public Library on Saturday at two sessions − 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

She will talk about how the book came about, read passages from it and discuss them with attendees.

These women were categorized as deaf, mute or insane

Refreshments may include some first-century food, such as dark bread, she said.

The women Mackall portrayed in "Women Who Followed Jesus" − Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary Magdalene; Mary of Bethany, Martha, Salome, Joanna, Susanna and a Samaritan woman − lived during an age when "women could not even be witnesses in a court of law because (it was believed) they told silly tales," Mackall said.

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They were categorized with minors, gamblers, pigeon racers and people who were labeled as deaf, mute,or insane -- "not a good term," Mackall said.

They weren't allowed to talk to men in public.

The women who were with Jesus as He traveled to towns and villages to preach the Gospel did so at their own peril.

"To follow Jesus was scandalous," she said. "It was tough getting talked about and gossiped about."

"Yet Jesus chose women to be his first witnesses," Mackall said, to be the first to see Him when he was resurrected from his death on the Cross, and to carry the news to His disciples, who were "locked up in a room, hiding out," she said.

When Mackall started studying the women and their long ago lifestyle, she said, "I wanted (their personalities) not to be flat," but rather "to come to life."

While poring over everything she could find about the time period, she also was "spending lots of time journaling" as if she were one of the women.

"As a writer, I love the details," she said.

"I wanted to convey these were hard journeys," she said, full of stress and difficulty.

While adhering to Scripture, Mackall used her understanding of history to fill in the storyline of the women whom Jesus healed of diseases, and who used their own resources to benefit His ministry.

Researching the woman, getting to know them

She became acquainted with the women she highlighted, such as Joanna, for whom it was especially dangerous as the wife of Herod's steward, Chuza, to be associated with Jesus.

"Not only did she follow Jesus, she was at the Cross" when he was crucified, Mackall said.

"I really got into Mary of Bethany," Mackall said. "Jesus spoke up for her many times" as she allegedly neglected other duties assigned by her sister to be "a listener." Like a disciple, she sat at the feet of Jesus.

Mackall also puts a spotlight on Salome, the mother of James and John, who embarrassed herself by asking Jesus for a special favor for her sons.

Salome confused "ambition for God with ambition for (herself)," Mackall said, something universally understood, just like the division, tension, fear and rejection prevalent in society during Jesus' time as in our own.

Jesus didn't waste time with the politics of the time, Mackall said. "He came to change lives.

"All of (these) women were changed because of Christ's love."

Mackall already has more books ready in the publishing pipeline.

"I have lots of ideas," she said.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Author Mackall sharing research on women of Bible at Ashland library