Review: Salvation on Sand Mountain

Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia, by Dennis Covington (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. 1995)

First line: “This morning on my way back from the mailbox, a neighbor asked whether I’d finished the new book.”

For our latest choice in my faith-based #malandembookclub, we delved into a niche part of Christianity that we knew nothing about: the world of religious snake handling. One of our main goals for this book club is to learn how and why other people practice their faith, both as an exercise in understanding our own beliefs better, and in an effort to feel more empathy for those different from us. We had high hopes for this National Book Award finalist, even though it is a quarter of a century old at this point.

The author, Dennis Covington, is a journalist who covered the attempted murder trial of a snake handling preacher, accused of trying to kill his wife by forcing her to get bit by snakes. Covington’s interest was piqued during the trial, so (despite the defendant being convicted and sent to prison), he decided to explore some of these churches to see what they were about. The more time he spends with this community of believers, who not only handle snakes but also speak in tongues, drink strychnine, and become one with the spirit, he more he is swept up in it, finding himself belonging among them. Covington seems to have “holy envy”, as one of our previous book club picks would call it, seeing the benefits of another’s religion wishing to be a part of it. But then it goes beyond that.

In most of the book’s Mal and I read, I find myself having some holy envy. I find religion so fascinating and think so much can be gained from learning how other people practice their faith. I can see what makes a specific practice meaningful and worthwhile, even if I haven’t experienced it myself. In our readings of Mormonism, the Shakers, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, even the followers of Jim Jones in Jonestown, I can see the benefits, the causes, the intention behind the practice, even if the follow through doesn’t work for me. But here, I wasn’t able to get to that place of holy envy even remotely. I wanted Covington to be able to explain to me the whys of snake handling so that I might understand this group of people a little bit, and either he didn’t do it sufficiently, or it’s just not something I could identify with. Maybe both. .

I’m still not totally sure what the purpose behind this book was. What I thought was going to be a more journalistic deep dive into this faith group became a little bit history, a little bit observational, a lotta bit memoir. Was it interesting? Yes, I guess so, though a tad more wandering than I had a taste for. The ending was anticlimactic and somewhat abrupt, even though he hinted at it for a couple of chapters. It was certainly a fast read for us, so there’s that. But do I have a better understanding of why people handle poisonous snakes as a part of their religious life? No, no I do not.