Life can be horribly unfair, especially if you are a teen. Or so you may think. Sometimes parents can be right, but not all adult decisions seem just and reasonable. Unfortunately, adults usually have the last word. In her third book in the Bird Face series, 6 Dates to Disaster, […]
The End of It All
In November our Church calls us to remember the remarkable of the Church both recognized (All Saints) and those unrecognized (All Souls). We set up memorial tables, reverence the book of the dead and attend memorial Masses. All the while taking comfort in the idea that we are doing […]
8 Notes to a Nobody, by Cynthia T. Toney
Ten years in the writing, 8 Notes to a Nobody is required reading for any family with adolescents. Cynthia T. Toney packs her pages with humor, realism, and insight. She also deserves an MS degree as a Master of the Simile for this stylistic labor of love. Wendy Robichaud is enjoying eighth […]
The Twelve Steps to being a Spiritual Writer
Step Five- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Over the past few weeks, we have examined our failings and sins. The purpose has not been to feel badly about ourselves. It is to examine the habits, fears, and patterns that […]
Hummingbird Feet
I think we sometimes become blasé at the idea of wonder. You know, the things that so astound us that we just shake our heads and say or think things like: “Wow, God did that,” “That beauty is amazing, only God’s hand could have done that,” “How astounding, we can’t even […]
Ornamental Graces, by Carolyn Astfalk
If you enjoy emotional rollercoasters, Ornamental Graces by Carolyn Astfalk is your book. Among the author’s many gifts is her ability to conjure up fictional characters in many shades of human decency. Imagine, if you will, Dan Malone. He has let himself go; his business teeters on the brink of […]
Feast of Pontius Pilate, by E. Ann McIntyre
Who would have thought that any of the Gospel villains would merit a feast on the liturgical calendar or have churches erected in their memory? Believe it or not, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church considers Pontius Pilate and his wife, Claudia to be saints. A clear case for Claudia begins […]
Into the Way of Peace, by Karen Kelly Boyce
Into the Way of Peace blends the mystical with the mysterious. While a blizzard swirls around an inner city church, a desperate few pass within. Some seek shelter from the storm. Others desire consolation because of life’s overwhelming burdens. One young man hopes to escape a police manhunt. Fr. D’Angelico […]
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, by Sebastian Junger
“The United States is so powerful that the only country capable of destroying her might be the United States herself, which means that the ultimate terrorist strategy would be just to leave the country alone. That way, America’s ugliest partisan tendencies could emerge unimpeded by the unifying effects of war.” […]
Specter, By John Desjarlais
Specter mixes the flavors of Romero, Ghostbusters, and The Terminator with generous glops of sour cream and salsa. John Desjarlais embroils his favorite DEA agent, Selena De La Cruz in a fictional parallel to the 1993 assassination of a Cardinal at the Guadalajara airport. She unearths the stench of corruption […]