Carolyn Astfalk's Blog, page 10

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

I haven’t published many personal posts here in a while, so I thought I’d share something I recently wrote for Catholic Mom. Lying down with my little ones, who aren’t all so little any more, has been a great blessing – for them and for me.

So-called “nighttime parenting” gets a bad rap. I can safely say that, now that all of my children regularly sleep through the night. (My children were each at least four years old before that happened with any regularity.)

Sleep disruption, for all its annoyance and the growing bags under my eyes, is the foundation of many warm memories of snuggling a newborn at my breast, rubbing the back of a toddler awakened by a nightmare, and reading picture books to a preschooler who can’t fall back to sleep.

Some of the most honest, intimate moments I’ve shared with my children have come in nearly dark bedrooms while they lay tucked beneath the sheets, a stuffed companion or two (or more) at their side.

I’ve spent more hours than I could count alongside my children (even at eight months pregnant, sharing a toddler-sized bed) waiting for them to fall asleep.

Once the bedtime story, prayers, and lullabies were complete, I would sit or lie quietly. Sometimes, still, I read, pray, or even proofread books, one hand holding that of a sleepy or not-so-sleepy child.

Many, many days, it took an hour or more for sleep to come. Sometimes I would chafe at the wait, thinking of all the things yet to be done that night or merely wishing I could retire to the couch and watch television with my husband. Truly, there were nights in which it seemed interminable. 

But some nights . . . Some nights my children’s hearts open while I sit at their bedside. Maybe it’s the relative quiet of night. Maybe it’s the dimly lit room. Maybe they are just stalling and trying to prolong their waking hours.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Some nights my children’s hearts open while I sit at their bedside. #parenting #bedtime
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In those minutes before they finally succumb to sleep, I’ve responded to existential questions, biblical confusion, bruised egos, broken hearts, real and imagined fearsome threats, spiritual attacks, flagging self-confidence, wonder, and, yes, endless chatter about video games of which I know next to nothing.

I’ve counseled a child combatting scruples, guided a child struggling with indecision, soothed a self-pitying child, and held a sobbing girl mourning the miscarried siblings that came before her.

There’s a gift there in the near darkness. An opportunity to know my children’s hearts and souls in a way that seldom presents itself in the daylight. It has cost me hours of “wasted” time, sitting bored at a bedside when I could be getting something done. It cost me a few television series and some lost sleep.

It has been worth it. My youngest kids still crave my quiet presence at bedtime. There are many more hours to go. For that, I am grateful.

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An Open Book

Welcome to the February 2022 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

While lately I’ve been finishing other books I’ve been reading, I did begin Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness by Kelly Ann Guest. This collection of stories of mom saints has a lot of variety, spanning all Christian history and mixing well-known and little-known saints. I was happy to see one of my patrons, Saint Perpetua, included. The stories, with reflections, are brief enough to enjoy when you have only a short time to read and make the book easy to pick up and return to. This book also checks the first box (Saintly) on the 2022 Catholic Writers Guild Reading Challenge.

I’ve been seeing Emma St. Clair’s clean, contemporary rom-coms and their illustrated covers all over the place lately and thought I’d give one a try. The Love Clichés series covers six familiar romance tropes. Falling For Your Best Friend is the fifth book in the series, but I had no trouble keeping characters straight. I found the first half of the book disappointing and almost set it aside a third of the way through, but the second half was much more to my liking. The most striking thing about the story is the main character, Harper, and the realization that her quirks likely place her on the autism spectrum. The hero, Chase, is as solid and selfless as they come, and the author creates some nice chemistry between him and Harper.

My daughter’s middle school class is reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis together. I’m sad to say I wasn’t introduced to this Christian allegory until well into adulthood. I’ve read several books in the series to my oldest son, but never the series in its entirety. I did see the movies, so there’s that. For my daughter, it’s a chance to revisit a book she read when she was small.

Where You Lead by Leslea Wahl is the book my daughter is picking up for fun, working to get in a few chapters during her especially busy days. She’s already told me that the main character, Eve, has two ’50s-style skirts – even a poodle skirt, I think – and she wants some of her own. Where You Lead is a fun contemporary mystery with some romance and history included as well. It’s a great choice for teen girls.

My fourth-grade daughter read Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Desperaux, the story of a mouse who loves a princess named Pea. (Again, I think I saw the movie. Some time I’ll have to address the dearth of good literature in my childhood.) She said it was a fun adventure, the characters were great, and she loved the details the author used.

My daughter also re-read Karey Kelly Boyce’s Sisters of the Last Straw Case of the Campground Creature aloud to me since I hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet. She loves this series, and I enjoyed a few laugh-out-loud moments in this tale of the sisters discovering the identity of a Bigfoot-like creature roaming the campground where they are staying.

My youngest son read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown with his third-grade class. I hadn’t heard of this novel, which the blurb describes as a blend of Wall-E and Hatchet. Roz, a robot trying to survive on a remote island, befriends the native animals until her “mysterious past comes back to haunt her.” Sounds ominous.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, also by Kate DiCamillo, is the second book he read last month. This one features a rabbit, Edward Tulane, not a mouse. Edward is owned by Abilene, who adores him. But then Edward is lost. Some reviews characterize the story as too sad and filled with too much loss. My son, however, didn’t find it particularly sad. 

Finally, I’ve spotted my youngest reading Dog Man by Dav Pilkey. The illustrations are so easily recognizable that my husband though he was reading Captain Underpants (another Pilkey series), which I don’t think any of my kids have read. In Dog Man, George is a human with a dog’s head. And he’s also a cop. Apparently, there are plenty of poop jokes. [As an aside, I noticed this book has more than 15,000 Amazon reviews. Margaret Mitchell’s classic Gone with the Wind has less than 9,000. The long arm of the Scholastic Book Fair reaches pretty far, I guess.]

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My Review of Things Worth Dying For

I don’t typically share individual book reviews unless they are part of a virtual book tour/blog tour. But Things Worth Dying For, more than anything I’ve read in recent memory, was the right book at the right moment.

Things worth dying for and its flips side, things worth living for, are what it’s all about. Over the past couple of years, those things have crystallized for me. Not that my beliefs have changed, but in a messy world, painted in blacks, whites, and shades of gray, the contrast between the darkness and the light have appeared, to me at least, more stark.

Archbishop Chaput, writing in the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, has a gift for sifting through culture, history, and the fragments of a life lived for Christ, and making sense of things. In sum, this book delivered a healthy dose of perspective when I craved a clear-headed look at the big picture, a picture much larger than any worldly pandemic, extending thousands of years into the past, across the globe, and with an eye toward our final destination.

I wholeheartedly recommend that you read Things Worth Dying For.

My Review of Things Worth Dying For by Archbishop Charles Chaput: In a messy world, painted in blacks, whites, and shades of gray, the contrast between the darkness and the light have appeared, to me at least, more stark. #bookreview…
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I’ve long loved Archbishop Charles Chaput’s writing. His insightful articles never failed to convey unvarnished truth made relevant by Chaput’s ability to incorporate appropriate cultural references.

Things Worth Dying For is a stellar book that does what those articles have done, but on a grander scale. The author draws upon scholars, philosophers, story tellers, historians, theologians, and more to present a cohesive understanding of contemporary American culture – how we got here, where we’re headed, and most importantly, what really matters and why.

Despite drawing on a variety of intellectual sources – Christian and secular – the prose is never arcane or heady. In fact, it’s eminently readable. And re-readable.

If the trajectory of the American experiment and world events have left you lost, confused, discouraged, or frightened, Things Worth Dying For offers a clear examination with a simple, life-changing remedy rooted in Love (e.g., God).

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Register Now for Catholic Writers Conference Online 2022

The Catholic Writers Conference Online is just around the corner!Have you registered yet?

Take a look at the line-up for the conference and then get registered!

You’ll find all of the pertinent details at the link, but here are some highlights:

Amazing presentationsDaily networking sessionsAffordable feePitch sessions with publishersSpecial discounts for Catholic Writers Guild members and clergy/religious. (Contact me for details using the form at the very bottom of this page.)

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Catholic Writers Guild 2022 Reading Challenge

Up for a challenge? The Catholic Writers Guild invites you to participate in its 2022 Reading Challenge. Read as many or as few books as you like in this challenge designed to have you reading Catholic books, fiction or nonfiction, in a way that expands your reading horizons without having you search for arcane titles on dusty old shelves. (Though dusting off some of the books in your personal library may be a good idea!)

Since several people have asked me for suggestions, I’ve added two or three for each category below. There are obviously many, many more titles for most of these categories. These are my entirely subjective choices (mostly fiction) that come to mind.

Saintly – Lots of spiritual classics and biographies to choose from here. For novelized accounts, I recommend recent books by Susan Peek (ex. Saint Cloud of Gaul, The Prince Who Traded Kingdoms) and Corinna Turner ( Old Men Don’t Walk to Egypt: St. Joseph ). I’m reading Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness by Kelly Ann Guest.Universal – I’ve had Silence by Shusako Endo (Japan) on my to-read-pile for what feels like forever. Now is the time to read it! I loved Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (Mexico).Even more universal – I recommend anything by Karina Fabian ( Discovery ), The Vines of Mars: Murder on a Small Colonial Planet by A.R.K. Watson, and Heaven’s Hunter by Marie C. Keiser.Preternatural – I love Mandy Lamb and the Full Moon by Corinna Turner. Yes, it’s geared to a young audience, but I still love it. I’ve not yet read Jenna’s Journey by Karen Kelly Boyce, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it.Timely – So, so many to choose from! The Cross Our Compass by Mary Rose Kadar-Kallen (WWII) and Julia’s Gifts by Ellen Gable (WWI).Kick-butt – Battle for His Soul by Theresa Linden. (You won’t look at the world the same way.) And Shadow Stalker by T.M. Gaouette.Saved – This one will differ. For me, I know The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos has been on my list forever. So has In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden.Transformed – This is the category I’ve been asked about most often. My two favorite recommendations are Karen Ullo’s Cinder Allia (Cinderella) and Erin McCole Cupp’s The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan (Jane Eyre).Holy – You can’t go wrong with this short but solid refresher by Barb Szyszkiewicz: The Handy Little Guide to Prayer . I also loved My Queen, My Mother: A Living Novena by Marge Fenelon.Stealthy – You could probably pick many titles by Dean Koontz, but I’m going with Innocence . The obvious choice would be J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’ve never made it past the first book.Apostolic – I’ve never gotten around to reading Pope Benedict the XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth and I’d like to re-read St. Augustine’s Confessions .Confirmed – Again, this one is particular to the reader, but I’d like to go back and re-read He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter J. Ciszek and Regina Doman’s Waking Rose . I have much more experience both in writing and in life than I did when I read either of them, both of which I loved.

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An Open Book

Welcome to the January 2022 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

My husband stumbled across a book I’d given him last year: Christmas Around the Fire: Stories, Essays, & Poems for the Season of Christ’s Birth by Ryan N. S. Topping. In fact, he read a selected story aloud to me—as it’s meant to be!—sitting alongside a cozy fireplace, and it was like something out of a storybook. There’s something about being read to, and, as an adult, I’ve experienced entirely too little of it. (I’m used to being the reader.) This book could help create some lovely family traditions.

I read fewer Christmas books than I’d have liked this year, but one of those I did complete was Mr. Nicholas: A Magical Christmas Tale by Christopher de Vinck. The “Christmas magic” accompanies Mr. Nicholas, as you might easily guess, but the story centers on a couple at the brink of divorce and their wonderfully simple son, who has Down syndrome. Mister Rogers Neighborhood serves as a touchstone in the story, which touched this fan of the show and western Pennsylvania native.

My daughter and I resumed listening to audiobooks together, something we haven’t really done since before the pandemic. We chose Pepper Basham’s The Mistletoe Countess, which I’ve seen so many glowing reviews for. We’re less than halfway through, but it’s easy to see why readers love this forthright, authentic, and bookish heroine. This young turn-of-the-century Virginian is paired with an English lord, and there’s a murder mystery to be solved at his beloved Havensbrook Hall.

Jennifer Rodewald has reached the last brother in her Murphy Brothers Stories with Brayden in After All. Having seen what the author has done in the other stories, aptly demonstrating the power of God to change hearts and lives, it’s not hard to accept what is a somewhat difficult story in which Brayden’s motivations and behavior sometimes made me cringe. Don’t worry, it turns out well! And, I think despite running out of brothers, there’s another connected book coming in 2022.

Let It Be Me is Becky Wade’s second book in her Misty River Romance series. Her stories are easy to sail through with smooth writing and witty banter. This book pairs a genius mathematician who discovers she was switched at birth and a closed-off pediatric heart surgeon (oh, the irony). There’s a mystery to solve regarding the circumstances of Leah, the mathematician’s, birth. I’m enjoying the story although I’m having trouble connecting with the main characters, something I don’t think I’ve ever experienced with a Becky Wade book.

My oldest son is home from college and is reading his way through his dad’s Star Wars books that he discovered in the attic over Thanksgiving break. He’s a fan of these now non-canon books and how they portray Luke Skywalker (as opposed to how the character is rendered in the final big screen trilogy). Both Heir to the Empire and Dark Force Rising are part of The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.

We gave our teen daughter a beautiful hard cover edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for Christmas. We recently watched a movie adaption, and she was primed and ready to read the classic. I purchased the book, and even I didn’t realize what a keepsake it would be. Not only does it include lovely illustrations by Marjolein Bastin, but it includes treasures like a copy of Bronte’s letter to her publisher, a postcard with period fashions, an advertisement akin to what Jane placed seeking a governess position, and more. I hope my daughter enjoys the Gothic romance of a courageous, principled orphan who finds love (and a wee bit of horror) at Thornfield Hall with Edward Rochester.

Having completed Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (again), my eighth grader also chose to begin Great Expectations. Thus far, she’s taken by the size of the volume and Dickens’s propensity for lengthy descriptions. I’ve not yet read this classic, which follows orphan Pip Pirrip’s life after he receives a mysterious inheritance.

My younger daughter received Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games by Jon Woodcock from her older brother. She enjoys simple programming apps she uses in the STREAM lab at school, and he thought she’d take to more coding. It teaches problem solving and all that, but mostly, I think, it’s just fun. (And her brother, who’s doing college-level programming now, is happy to spur her interest in something he enjoys.)

This fourth grader has also been busy snatching paper from the printer to draw all sorts of shapes and characters, so we gave her How to Draw Cool Stuff: Holidays, Seasons and Events by Catherine V. Holmes. It seems easy to follow, and she’s been bringing me pages from her new sketchbook filled with Christmas trees, elves, and ornaments.

In school, her class completed The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, which we’d read together last year. They’ve also continued to read from the I Survived Series, reading I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900 by Lauren Tarshis. Eight-thousand people were killed in the Texas hurricane that took locals by surprise.

I recently edited a book in Theresa Linden’s Armor of God series, which my daughter loves. I need to get her her own copy of Boots of Peace, which follows George Pennington’s pursuit of a full set of armor. So far, he, his younger brother, and his friend Robyn have earned their Belt of Truth and Breastplate of Righteousness. With each piece earned, they learn valuable lessons about life and virtue while discovering a little more about the mysterious knights’ table they’ve discovered in the woods. This series is perfect for children in the sacramental years who are either preparing for or have recently received First Penance and First Holy Communion.

My third grader enjoyed Bots: The Most Annoying Robots in the Universe by Russ Bolts, in which some space robots are discovered. At least that’s what I absorbed from his brief description of this graphic novel about Joe and Rob, a couple of goofy robots who discover strange video cameras that fell from the sky.

All of the kids enjoyed Let’s Explore! Woodland Creatures by Claire Philip. It includes a series of woodland animals, how each is adapted to its habitat, finds food, is affected by the seasons, and more. The illustrations by Jean Claude are charming too.

Our son received The Night the Saints Saved Christmas by Gracie Jagla, and it’s such a sweet and beautiful tale of the saints in heaven working to deliver Christmas presents when St. Nick gets sick. The rhyme is fun to read, and we love picking out the saints, like St. John Paul II delivering presents on skis or Blessed Pier Giorgio scaling mountains to distribute gifts. This book would make a treasured part of a child’s Christmas library.

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The 15 Best Books I Read in 2021

I didn’t quite hit my Goodreads reading goal this year. I usually do. But circumstances were different this year, and that meant less reading and almost no writing. I’ve also become pickier and pickier about what I read and more and more critical, a hazard of being a writer and consuming many books.

In looking back over the 90+ books I read last year, these five-star books stood out. I didn’t double-check, but I’m fairly certain these are all 2021 releases. (Or, in the case of The Work of Our Hands, late 2020.)

Adult FictionThis Life: A Murphy Brothers Story by Jennifer RodewaldAll That Really Matters by Nicole DeeseIn a Far-Off Land by Stephanie LandsemEternal Light of the Crypts: A Historical Fiction in the Ruins of Charlemagne’s Empire by Alan Van’t LandLove and the Silver Lining (State of Grace) by Tammy L. GrayIn Pieces (Molly Chase Book 1) by Rhonda OrtizCrumb and Punishment (A KC Crumb Mystery) by Georgiana DanielsTeen/Child FictionThe Night the Saints Saved Christmas by Gracie JaglaSaint Cloud of Gaul, The Prince Who Traded Kingdoms by Susan PeekMazarine: A Mermaid Fairytale Romance by Cece LouiseThe Haunted Cathedral (The Harwood Mysteries) by Antony Barone KolencDo Carpenters Dream of Electric Sheep? St. Joseph’s Story as Dreamt by a Sleeping Teenage Boy (A Friends in High Places Spin-off) by Corinna TurnerTreasures: Visible & Invisible by Catholic Teen Books authorsAdult NonfictionAll Things New: Breaking the Cycle and Raising a Joyful Family by Erin McCole CuppThe Work of Our Hands: The Universal Gift of Creativity by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

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Where Angels Pass Blog Tour

About the Book:

Teenager Evie Gallagher is stunned when her 45-year-old father dies tragically and suddenly. Too many unanswered questions accompany Evie’s challenging journey to adulthood. When she finally discovers the reason her father led such a troubled life, shock turns to anger. She is determined to find justice for her father.

Nervous about the first day of his freshman year, 14-year-old Hank Gallagher steps inside Holy Archangels High School for the first time in September of 1954. Although the majestic Holy Archangels statues inside the school’s grand lobby present an air of protection, it is not long before Hank passes right under them and into the hands of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Confused and cornered by threats, Hank attempts to abandon his secret to the past, but a horrible wound on his heart eventually leads to a catastrophic breakdown.

Based loosely on actual events, chapters alternate between Evie and Hank to reveal a life haunted by betrayal and a revelation of true justice and hope.

Where Angels Pass – New Catholic fiction from @ellengable @fullquivpub #CatholicFiction
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BUY NOW ON AMAZONADD TO GOODREADSSpecial release sale!Until Christmas 2021: $2.99 e-book (reg. $4.99), $12.99 print (reg. $15.99)Advance reviews:

Beautifully written, yet heart-rending tale of sexual abuse and the long-term effects such a crime has on its victims. I believe this novel will bring to light the utter tragedy of clerical abuse and the ripple effect it has for generations to come. Yet through the darkness of that abomination, dawn rises, and we are assured that justice can prevail, and healing can be achieved. I highly recommend this book for anyone who seeks to understand, for this just might be one of the most important novels of our time.

Mary Jo Thayer, award-winning author of Close to the Soul

Ellen Gable tells a very personal and difficult story, Where Angels Pass, with such gentleness, love, and heartfelt honesty. What I expected to be an uncomfortable story ended up being a love story of a daughter for her father, a father who suffered the lifelong effects of something no young person should ever experience. Thank you, Ellen, for sharing this deeply moving story that will surely touch readers in a very profound way.

Jim Sano, author, The Father’s Son

Incredible book. Magnificently done. A story with uncompromising honesty. Children reflect our worst and best selves. What they inherit from us speaks to our final judgment. Here is a story that offers humanity hope despite one of the worst sins of all—the corruption of innocence.

A.K. Frailey, author

Ellen Gable Hrkach addresses the darkness of sexual abuse and the resulting lifelong wounds with delicate finesse.

Michelle Buckman, award-winning author of Turning Circles and Rachel’s Contrition

I couldn’t put this book down, so don’t let the topic deter you. The story, told simply and honestly—and without sensationalism—will draw you in and have you rooting for these characters long after you close the book.

Victoria Ryan, author

The greatest tragedy that could befall the Roman Catholic Church is for a child’s innocence to be stolen by a priest. And yet it has happened thousands of times and continues to happen. Told by Ellen Gable, as only she can tell it, with candor and faith, this story sheds light on the darkness of a case of clerical abuse. As the results of the abuse envelop an entire family, one sees how that the original victim truly had his life destroyed by one evil man. A moving and heart-breaking read that will change your life and strengthen your faith! 

Elena-Maria Vidal, author

Where Angels Pass may be hard to read at times, but you will not regret the insights it provides into one of the darkest issues of our time. With skill and sensitivity, Ellen Gable presents the story of one boy and his family, showing the devastating effects of clerical sexual abuse on him and eventually his wife and children.

Theresa Linden, author of award-winning Catholic fiction

Ellen Gable has done a great service to our Church, the victims of this dreaded abuse, and particularly to their families whose suffering has gone virtually unnoticed. While sharing this story was no doubt painful for her, Ellen’s courage in doing so will help other families living through this nightmare. She has done a masterful job mixing fact with fiction.

Michael Seagriff, author

And in the unfolding of the story — with the inevitable fury and sorrow that surfaces along the way — we are finally brought face to face with Jesus’ call to forgive those who harm us. A feat that Ellen shows us is not impossible, for nothing is impossible for those with God on their side. This book will change, teach, and inspire. Every Catholic should read it.

Veronica Smallhorn, author, A Channel of Your Peace

My review:

Where Angels Pass is a challenging and necessary novel based on the author’s family experience. Told in split time, from the perspective of young Hank, sexually abused by his teacher (a Catholic priest), and his daughter, the story allows the reader to see the devastating and lingering effect such abuse has on individuals, families, and descendants in a variety of ways – physical, psychological, and spiritual.

The author ties the novel to touchstones of the eras and world events that work to integrate the story into our lives and times in a way that makes the story personal yet universal.

Where Angels Pass does what fiction does best. It allows the reader to understand, through story, the hard truths necessary for understanding, compassion, and ultimately change. Notably, it does so by placing blame where it should lie and without denigrating authentic faith.

4.5 stars

Excerpt:

Fr. Tim unlocked his classroom door, and the two stepped inside. Fr. Tim closed the door behind him as he said, “Would you please erase and clean the chalkboards?”

Hank nodded and proceeded to the front of the classroom. Red usually cleaned the boards.

Once he started erasing, he realized he was too short to reach the top of the board. So he did what he could first, then he turned to scan the room for the stepstool. He couldn’t see it anywhere.

“Need the stepstool, Hank?” the priest asked.

For a minute, Hank wondered whether Fr. Tim was teasing him, but the priest would never do that. “Yes, sir.”

The priest picked up the stool from the closet and carried it to the front of the classroom. He placed it on the floor beside Hank. “There you go. All set.”

Hank got onto the stool and finished erasing the blackboard. He was about to step down when he felt a grip on his pant leg. Was that Fr. Tim’s hand? Every part of his body went still.

After what seemed like moments, the priest finally said, “Come on, I’ll help you down.”

Hank breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, F-Father.”

Hank moved the stool and climbed up to finish erasing the middle section of the blackboard when Fr. Tim’s hand again gripped Hank’s pant leg.  This time, the priest held onto Hank’s legs with one hand on each leg. “Don’t want you to fall, Hank.”

Once Hank finished erasing that section, Fr. Tim assisted him down. Hank moved the stool to the far end of the board and stood up to erase the rest of the chalk writing. He felt weird about the priest holding onto his legs, so he quickly cleaned off the board.

When he was almost done, Hank felt Fr. Tim’s hand go from around his pants, up underneath his trousers and stroked his bare leg above his socks. Instinctively, he shook his leg free of the priest’s hand.

Fr. Tim cleared his throat. “Here you go, Hank. I’ll help you down.”

“Uh…what job can I do now, Father?” He tried to shake off the odd feeling, ready to move on.

“Let’s get you settled over here at this front desk, and you can put these files in alphabetical order.” The priest pointed. “Oh, and I’ve got Christmas chocolates on my desk. You’re welcome to take some if you’d like.”

“Sure.” Before Hank sat down, he took a healthy handful of Whitman’s sampler chocolates. He unwrapped one and wolfed it down.

While Hank worked on the alphabetizing, Fr. Tim acted normal, as if nothing had happened. Well, nothing had happened. The priest had simply put his hand on Hank’s leg. Sister Rose Bernadine had done worse when she slapped his leg with a ruler when he’d ignored the recess bell and remained in the schoolyard. It had stung like the dickens.

“You okay there, Hank?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

That night, Hank pulled the covers up and shivered.  His bedclothes were cold.

He reflected on the day, his thoughts turning to Fr. Tim standing beside him while he was on the stool. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. But of course, the priest was just trying to keep Hank steady.  What other reason could he have?

Fr. Tim was always putting his hand on Hank’s shoulder or back. Heck, he touched Hank more than his mother or father did most days.

Hank put his headphones on and turned the radio to the sports channel airing the Philadelphia Warriors against the Syracuse Nationals basketball game.He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of spring, hotdogs, and Phillies games.

Author interview:

Where Angels Pass  is quite different from your most recent books.  Why?

Where Angels Pass has actually been on my “To Write” shelf for at least 15 years. Any time I tried to sit down and write it, I couldn’t.  This was a very difficult topic to write about because of what happened to my father.

When my father was a freshman in a Catholic high school in Philly, he was sexually assaulted by one of his teachers.  He kept the secret his whole life and the only person he ever told was my mother.  My father had a very troubled life after that and eventually wound up having a nervous breakdown the same day my youngest brother was born.  Then he had to cope with the stigma of mental illness, eventually becoming an alcoholic and dying tragically when he was only in his 40s.

This summer, when I sat down to write, I started writing and didn’t stop until the book was complete (three weeks). I have never written a book in only three weeks, but every day, I just wrote and couldn’t stop.  I’d stay up late to write another thousand words. I’d get up early to write.  The only time I stopped writing was when I cried (which was frequent throughout the writing process) and I had to step away.

How much of this book is based on true events?

Most of the book is based loosely on true events. I changed names, of course, amalgamated characters and situations. The time period is different as well. Evie (based on me) is seven years younger than me. The story is told from the perspectives of both Evie (my character) and Hank (my father’s character).

One thing that is not true about the book is that I never met my father’s abuser.  He was already dead when I found out about him. The book takes place between seven and ten years after the events in real life because I wanted the abuser to still be alive.  In many respects, that chapter was very healing for me to write. 

What do you hope the reader will take away from your story?

It’s my hope that the reader will be able to learn that just because a person has suffered clerical abuse (in this case, my father) does not mean his life had any less value than any other person.  Did he make mistakes because of his woundedness? Of course, he did, because we’re all born with original sin and with free will.

And despite all these things that happened to him, he was really an incredible father and, I believe, made the world a better place (again, despite his nervous breakdown and alcoholism).

Most importantly, I hope the reader can understand that the Catholic Church is not an evil institution, and we should not leave the Church because of the sins of some of her members. One thing I didn’t realize until recently was how widespread the clerical abuse problem has been for many years. And while it saddened me that my father was abused, it breaks my heart that so many others suffered like my father.

Why did it take 15 years for you to be able to write this book?

I didn’t want to imagine what my father went through during his abuse and afterward.  And while I wrote this book, I had to step away because I’d be crying, especially during the abuse chapters, the aftermath, his nervous breakdown, and his battle with alcoholism. 

My father wasn’t the sum total of his faults. Instead, he was a unique image of God, who tried his darnedest to be a good husband, son, and father. However, his woundedness was like a snake that slithered all throughout everything he did, good or bad.

Why do you feel your extended family are also victims of clerical abuse?

Having a father who was abused by a priest directly contributed to my father having a mental breakdown and suffering from alcoholism.  I believe that had my father never been abused, he probably would not have had a nervous breakdown and he may never have become an alcoholic. As the daughter of an alcoholic, I remember times when as a young teen, I was the parent figure and had to take him to bed or help him put clothes on. In some respects, having an alcoholic father makes a child grow up too quickly.

The Blog Tour:

December 3  Plot Line and Sinker

December 4  Jim Sano

December 6 Mary Jo Thayer

December 7 Carolyn Astfalk, My Scribbler’s Heart Blog

December 8 Elena Maria Vidal

December 9 Victoria Ryan

December 10 Michael Seagriff

December  11 Patrice MacArthur

December 12  Amanda Lauer

December 13 Theresa Linden

December 14 Jeanie Egolf

About the author:

Ellen Gable is a coach, speaker, publisher, NFP teacher, book reviewer, transcriptionist, and instructor in the Theology of the Body for Teens. Her books have been collectively downloaded 750,000 times on Kindle. Some of her books have been translated into Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and French. The mother of five adult sons and grandmother to one cherished grandson, Ellen (originally from New Jersey) now lives with her husband of nearly 40 years, James Hrkach, in Pakenham, Ontario, Canada.

Links:

Blog: Plot Line and Sinker

Full Quiver Publishing  

Amazon Author Page

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Goodreads

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Story Terrace

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An Open Book

Welcome to the December 2021 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

Life has conspired to limit both my and my family’s reading time lately, but I still have some books to share! First, The Christmas Lights, a collective story written by six members of Catholic Teen Books, including myself, is now available as a 99-cent e-book. Following a prompt, each author contributed a segment to the story then passed it on to another author. Only the final author knew the ending until we read it aloud on the Reading With Your Kids Podcast. It was such fun! I re-read the story in preparation for publishing the e-book, and I could still hear each author’s voice in my head as I read it. Camilla and her family are on her way to visit her newly widowed grandfather for Christmas, but a hazardous snowstorm sends their vehicle into a ditch. Camilla must find help for her injured parents and little brother. Encouraged by a vision of her late grandmother, Camilla does find help—in the most unexpected ways. All profits from the e-book will be donated to Cross Catholic.

I’m about halfway through Ellen Gable’s soon-to-be-released Where Angels Pass, a story of a boy’s abuse by a priest and the ramifications for him and his future family loosely based on the author’s experience. I love that Ellen Gable deals frankly with the ways in which both the victim, Hank, and in particular his daughter, Evie, are harmed. The value of fiction shines in this story that allows the reader to understand how Hank’s trauma results in lifelong consequences.

Corinna Turner writes faster than I can read, I think, and her latest (coming soon!), A Saint in the Family, includes an addition to her I Am Margaret series. I’ve read the short stories and novellas contained in this edition separately, but I appreciated reading those that feature heroine Margo’s brother Kyle all in one place. Kyle is a hero in his own right in these side stories. I don’t know of any author writing as effectively about the day-to-day sacrifices that sanctify us as Corinna Turner.

My eighth-grade daughter finished Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson. I thought I’d entertain her by singing a poem to “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” but, even better, we discovered the poems, because of their meter, can also be sung to the Pokémon theme song. (I’ll spare you a link.) She’s not generally a big poetry fan, but she did enjoy these poems, which she read between her continuation of Edgar Allan Poe short stories from last month.

My fourth-grade daughter has picked up her older brother’s Jedi Academy series. She’s read the first three books in the series, written by Jeffrey Brown. (The subsequent books are written by a different author.) Star Wars Jedi Academy, which includes lots of illustrations among its chapters, is best described as Star Wars meets middle school.

I read Tomie dePaola’s David and Goliath aloud to my two youngest. The hardcover picture book has recently been published by Magnificat-Ignatius. The book sticks to the story in 2Samuel and goes a little deeper than the short, familiar retellings of David slaying the giant. (My daughter pointed out that she’d never heard the part about David beheading Goliath.) It makes clear the message that God is the one, true God, who comes to the aid of the small and lowly.

The Adventures of Loupio: Volume 6, The Quest by Jean-François Kieffer is part of a series of graphic novels from Magnificat-Ignatius that follow an orphan boy, Loupio, befriended by the wolf tamed by Saint Francis. In this volume, Loupio travels throughout Italy, dependent on Our Lady of Providence, braving cold, hunger, theft, and discouragement as he seeks a bell for Saint Francis. The illustrations are lively, and the text is simple enough for young readers (seven and up). A map in the back traces the path of Loupio’s adventure, and music and lyrics are provided for the melody Loupio sings trying to earn coins to purchase the bell. Books in this series would make a lovely gift.

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An Open Book

Welcome to the November 2021 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart and CatholicMom.com!

The Halloween/All Saints/All Souls ‘spooky season’ means we broke out the Edgar Allan Poe collection. I rummaged through thirty, yes, thirty boxes of books in the attic several times until I found my lovely little Poe collection, Tales of Mystery and Imagination. This book was a gift to me many years ago. It’s small and portable and has a lovely ribbon bookmark and gold edging. My teenagers have been reading various stories, my daughter for pleasure, and my son for his short story reading group. I’m determined to at least revisit a few of my favorites, including “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

I finally moved The Spice King by Elizabeth Camden to the top of my list after hearing of so many people who loved it. The book is set in turn of the 20th century Washington, DC, and concerns the nascent workings of the Department of Agriculture in attempting to regulate processed foods. The history and politics surrounding that effort fascinated me, recalling some of what I’d seen in The Food That Built America (which I recommend). The wealthy spice company siblings in the book also intrigued me, but the romance between spice king Gray and civil servant Annabelle fizzled instead of sizzled.

A World War II debut novel with Catholic themes by a local author had been waiting on my to-read pile for some months. The Cross Our Compass by Mary Rose Kadar-Kallen surprised me in a good way. What started as an idyllic family story evolved into a war story of some depth, focused on the value of suffering seen through the lens of Christ’s death and resurrection. I would’ve preferred the story in a closer point of view, but I was still moved by the main character’s experiences in the European trenches.

Author T.M. Gaouette will soon release the final book in her Faith & Kung Fu series for teens, Loving Gabriel. I read an advance copy of the story that showcases the maturing relationship of Hollywood starlet Tanner Rose and devout country boy Gabriel. The novel will give teens lots to think about in discerning marriage and the importance of honesty and communication in intimate relationships. There’s also an element of danger and suspense that adds some excitement to the story.

I’m only a quarter of the way through a lengthy debut novel written by a teenager—Morning Star by Bennett J. Bauer. There seems to be limited availability—only through the publisher—but its completion is quite a feat for someone so young. It’s a little early to tell, but although the mechanics of writing are well executed, I think the story could use some tightening and revision for it to really grab the reader. Morning Star will appeal to young fans of historical adventure and piracy.

My kids all seem to be reading the same books the last couple of months. Two of them are reading Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe. It’s interesting to compare the covers of the books. The more recent, pictured here, has a completely different feel and appeal than the original cover featuring a sleepy dog, which my son borrowed from the school library. My oldest also once enjoyed this story of a rabbit draining the juices from vegetables much as a vampire drains blood from its victims. Some silly fun for the season.

Honey in a Hive by Anne Rockwell provides kids (and adults) with a very thorough education in the lives and workings of honeybees. I recall someone telling me that they educated themselves on a variety of topics by reading children’s nonfiction books, and this one is a great example of what a valuable practice that might be.

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