Category: Book Reviews

  • Book Recommendation: “Unplanned”

    Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader’s Eye-Opening Journey across the Life Line by Abby Johnson is a book currently getting a great deal of attention, and with good reason. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, so I am sharing the official press release below along with links on […]

  • Book Review: The Rosary Workout

    The Rosary Workout by Peggy Bowes Bezalel Books, 2010 A former member of the Air Force, Peggy Bowes is a personal trainer, Spinning instructor and lifestyle and weight management consultant. In writing “The Rosary Workout,” she sought to create “a plan that would help a person improve both physically and spiritually . . . an […]

  • Book Review: The Catholic Study Bible

    The Catholic Study Bible Second Edition New York: Oxford University Press, 2006 Perhaps you have “reading the Bible more” as one of your New Year’s Resolutions, or perhaps you are simply in the market (as I was) for a new volume of a much-loved worn-out Bible. “The Catholic Study Bible” is a perfect choice. It […]

  • Book Review: “Women of Opus Dei in Their Own Words”

    Women of Opus Dei: In Their Own Words Edited by M.T. Oates, Linda Ruf, and Jenny Driver MD New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2009 Opus Dei received a great deal of negative publicity a few years back when “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown was making headlines. In some ways, this book is a response […]

  • Book Review: “Where Do Sisters Come From?”

    Where Do Sisters Come From? by Elizabeth Ficocelli Illustrations by Shannon Wirrenga Waterford, MI: Bezalel Books, 2010 “Where Do Sisters Come From?” by Elizabeth Ficocelli is the perfect introduction to women’s consecrated religious life for children. In an era where Catholic children may be exposed to relatively few sisters, their way of life may seem […]

  • Book Review: “Holding on to Hope”

    Holding on to Hope: The Journey Beyond Darkness by Kathryn J. Hermes, FSP with Healing Exercises by Helene Cote, PM Boston: Daughters of St. Paul, 2010 As someone who has suffered from depression for many years, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of “Holding on to Hope: The Journey Beyond Darkness” […]

  • Book Review: “Shepherd’s Abiding”

    Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon New York: Penguin Group, 2003 I recently returned to the world of Mitford and indulged in Jan Karon’s “Shepherd’s Abiding,” a touching Christmas story featuring Episcopal priest Fr. Timothy Kavanaugh. I am a fan of the Mitford series and have read many of the books, however one could pick this […]

  • Book Review: “Unlocked”

    Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010 New York Times Bestselling writer Karen Kingsbury has weaved another compelling, inspirational story in “Unlocked.” Holden Harris is an eighteen-year old locked inside himself. When he was three, he withdrew into his own autistic world, a world his mother Tracy has been trying desperately to release […]

  • Book Review: “A Time to Plant”

    A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt by Kyle Kramer Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2010 I admit it. When I received a review copy of “A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt,” I cringed. A book about back-to-basics living? No, thank you. In my defense, I […]

  • Book Review: “The Sacraments We Celebrate”

    The Sacraments We Celebrate: A Catholic Guide to the Seven Mysteries of Faith by Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2010 Reviewed by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur In the introduction to “The Sacraments We Celebrate: A Catholic Guide to the Seven Mysteries of Faith,” Archbishop Timothy Dolan writes that Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi “has […]