A collection of biographies of many women, including gospel singers, black nuns, preachers, missionaries and civil rights workers. These biographies look at the history and experiences of African-American women, in relation to their spirituality and activities in organized religion.

This Far By Faith brings together a collection of essays on the religious identities and experiences of African-American women. Spanning from the period of slavery to the present, the essays profile American figures such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Willie Mae Ford Smith, exploring the role that religious institutions and impulses played in their lives.

"This collection of essays offers a profound introduction to the complex role of religion in the lives of African American women. Newman and Weisenfeld have edited the definitive collection of African-American women's religious biography yet published." -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University"A powerful collection of biographies which will help readers locate and appreciate the struggles of these foresisters." -- Waterwheel