FREE: Angels Along the Way

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By Della Reese ("Touched by an Angel")

Hardcover

Star of the hit television series Touched by an Angel, Della Reese has had a long career in entertainment. Like many black artists, she began in church, singing in the choir in her hometown of Detroit. At age 13, she was accomplished enough to go on tour with the great Mahalia Jackson, one of the "angels" Reese credits with helping her along the way. Jackson, she writes, gave her "a foundation in the art of communication.... It's about filling yourself with the spirit of whatever you're singing about, of really going to that place and letting listeners go with you." Other angels include the comedian who taught her the elements of comedy and helped her hone her act, and the waitress who encouraged her to sing in a nightclub, years after Reese's mother had died and Reese had left home to live on her own. The road to stardom wasn't entirely smooth--she tells of dishonest managers and lawyers and troubles with the IRS--but Reese makes clear that she has always been sustained by her faith.