August Open Book #anopenbook
Today I’m joining with Carolyn Astfalk and Catholic Mom for An Open Book. Here’s what I’ve been reading and working on for the past month:
On Grief & Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss by
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, MD and David Kessler
Synopsis: Ten years after the death of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, this commemorative edition of her final book combines practical wisdom, case studies, and the authors’ own experiences and spiritual insight to explain how the process of grieving helps us live with loss. Now with an introduction by Maria Shriver and an additional resources section.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s On Death and Dying changed the way we talk about the end of life. Before her own death in 2004, she and David Kessler completed On Grief and Grieving, which looks at the way we experience the process of grief.
Just as On Death and Dying taught us the five stages of death—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—On Grief and Grieving applies these stages to the grieving process and weaves together theory, inspiration, and practical advice, including sections on sadness, hauntings, dreams, isolation, and healing. This is “a fitting finale and tribute to the acknowledged expert on end-of-life matters” (Good Housekeeping).
My review: I’m currently writing a book entitled Coping With Loss Without Losing Your Faith, so this is one of the books I ordered to help with my research. This is an excellent reference on grief and grieving. Highly recommend. 5/5.
A Very Loud Christmas by Amy Schisler, Illustrated by Emily Torres
Synopsis: Meet Crash, Belle, Carol, Thor, and Joy, the Loud children. They love to laugh and sing and enjoy life – loudly! The rest of the families in their quiet, mountain village don’t understand why the Loud children are always so loud, and the other children are not allowed to play with them. One Christmas, little Johnny Thompson gets lost in the woods, and the village must rely on the very Loud family to bring Johnny home.
This delightful book will enchant children with its illustrations and lovable, often relatable, characters and will warm the hearts of parents with its valuable lessons on acceptance, friendship, and prayer. It’s the perfect gift at Christmas or any time of the year.
My review: I received an advanced copy of this book to review for Catholic Mom so my full review will be coming soon. However, I can say that my six-year-old grandson enjoyed it. More to come.
Jumping into Joy: Caitlyn and Peter’s Rosary Adventures by Theresa Linden
Synopsis: Nine-year-old Peter dozes off while his family prays the Rosary. His friend Caitlyn encourages him to use his imagination. He’s not sure what she means until she takes him through the Portal to the Rosary Mysteries. At first Peter doesn’t see the ancient town of Nazareth. But as Caitlyn describes their surroundings and the teenage girl carrying a water pot, Peter begins to see it too! Hey, is that Mary?
Peter uses his problem-solving skills, and Caitlyn refers to her Rosary Journal as they try to discover the virtues attached to each mystery of the Rosary. Once they discover the virtue, they zip to the next mystery!
Prayer is more important than ever—and not just for adults. Children have the potential to become great prayers warriors and to grow in virtue by using Our Lady’s gift of the Rosary. We know that the Rosary is more than a recitation of words; it is also a meditation on the lives of Jesus and Mary. Children have a unique ability to use their imagination. Following lively characters, this Rosary-themed chapter book, geared toward children ages six to nine, will show readers how to use their imaginations to meditate on the mysteries and will encourage them to pray for particular virtues.
After the story, find Bible verses and virtues specific to each mystery, along with a “Prayer before the Rosary” for children.
My review: I thoroughly enjoyed this delightful middle-grade book, which seeks to teach children about the wonders of the Holy Rosary (and specifically, the Joyful Mysteries in this book). I especially appreciated that the author incorporated characters from her young adult book series. Highly recommend. 5/5.
While Idaho Slept by J. Reuben Appelman
Synopsis: Just after 4:00 am on November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were viciously stabbed to death in an off-campus house. The killings would shake the small blue-collar college town of Moscow, Idaho, dominate mainstream news coverage, and become a social media obsession, drawing millions of clicks and views. While a reticent Moscow Police Department, the FBI, and the Idaho State Police searched for the killer, unending conjecture and countless theories blazed online, in chatrooms and platforms from Reddit and YouTube to Facebook and TikTok. For more than a month, the clash of armchair investigators and law enforcement professionals raged, until a suspect—a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate studying criminology—was arrested at his family home 2,500 miles away in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on the day before New Year’s Eve.
While Idaho Slept is a thought-provoking, literary chronicle of a small-town murder investigation blistering beneath the unceasing light of international interest, as traditional investigators, citizen sleuths, and the true-crime media acted—sometimes together, often in conflict—to uncover the truth. As J. Reuben Appelman brings this terrible crime into focus, he humanizes the four victims, examining the richness of their lives, dissects the mind and motivations of their presumed killer, and explores the world of northern Idaho, a rugged, deeply conservative stronghold steeped in Christian values and American patriotism.
Going deep inside the case, Appelman addresses a crucial question: With so many millions of citizens armed by access and hungry to take part in a true crime hunt of their own, has the nature of homicide investigations permanently changed? Rising above the sensational, While Idaho Slept illuminates the intrinsic connection between today’s media, citizen sleuths, our societal mania for murder tales, and an impatient public’s insatiable appetite for spectacle as never before. Running beneath, the pulse of the story is a heartbreaking narrative of the people we love, the dreams we all share, and the uncertain time left for sharing them.
Review: As most of my blog followers know, one of my guilty pleasures is reading true crime. From In Cold Blood to Helter Skelter, I’ve probably read 80 percent of all the true crime books out there.
I’ve had a copy of this particular book for a year now. I didn’t actually read it until a few weeks ago when the defendant in the Idaho case decided to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty. I’d actually forgotten I had it, discovered it in a pile of books, then proceeded to read it over the next few days. Crisp, polished writing and extremely well done, although the book was written during the gag order in place since 2023, so there wasn’t a lot that was new information. Recommend. 4/5.
Synopsis: Second Edition. As Stephen Long steps ashore in England one gray dawn in May 1587, he wonders how many more Catholics will have to die to make Queen Elizabeth feel secure. Involuntarily, he trembles at the thought that soon he may be numbered among them.
For in the days ahead, each time Stephen hears confession or celebrates Mass, he commits yet another act of high treason against the British Crown, for which Queen Elizabeth’s swift penalty is gruesome torture and painful death. As Stephen hastens to find shelter away from that open beach, he struggles not only with fear but with doubt as well: “Is my mission foolish? Am I nothing more than fresh meat for the queen’s butchers?”
In the light of that same gray dawn, just a few miles north, a heartbroken Caroline Wingate lies awake in her unhappy marriage bed, wrestling with thoughts of a different – perhaps crueler – martyrdom.
Although from her earliest years Caroline has known herself to be called to cloistered, contemplative life as a nun, some years ago she was forced by her father into a politically safe marriage with an upright Protestant from whom she must hide her Catholicism – and her true vocation – lest she, too, be executed for her faith.
My review: Although I’m the new publisher of the second edition of this novel, I’ve loved this book since it was first published in 2013. It’s one of the best Catholic novels I’ve ever read. Here’s my review from 2013:
“It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls.”
This quote by Blessed John Paul II (Salvifici Doloris) could well be the theme of Dena Hunt’s exquisite novel, Treason, which takes place in 16th Century England when Catholicism was outlawed. Suffering for the faith in our current North American culture is something most modern Catholics have never considered. Religious apathy is evidenced by half-filled churches and the large numbers of Catholics who openly dissent from Church teachings on abortion, contraception, same sex unions and premarital sex.
Since Adam and Eve, sin has been present, but what I have observed is that religious apathy, poorly-formed consciences and subjective truth have made the above sinful behaviors acceptable and the norm. It’s becoming more and more difficult for Catholics to practice their faith in our current society.
So what does all this have to do with Dena Hunt’s exciting new novel, Treason? Well, a lot. Catholics in Elizabethan England were not permitted to practice their faith. Monasteries had their roofs torn off, convents and churches were looted, their artworks and artifacts were removed and stolen.
Catholics were expected to change their religion and attend Church of England services (or face huge fines). But many Catholics retained their faith and were forced underground to recite rosaries, go to confession and attend Mass when a priest was available.
Priests always bore the brunt of the crown’s cruel martyrdom because they were seen as traitors: if they were captured, they were tortured, hung and before death, taken down, drawn and quartered. In fact, Treason is dedicated to Blessed Father Nicholas Postgate, “a Catholic priest who faithfully served his `parish’ in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors, always traveling by foot, until he was arrested, hanged, drawn, and quartered at York, at the age of eighty.”
As well, lay people also suffered martyrdom during this time. Those suspected of harboring priests were hung without a trial.
Hunt’s story centers around a young priest, Father Stephen Long, who arrives in England to secretly minister to the large numbers of underground Catholics. He wonders “how many more Catholics will have to die to make Queen Elizabeth feel secure.” Every time he hears confession or celebrates Holy Mass, he knows he is committing high treason against the Crown, the penalty of which is torture and a painful death.
The other main character is Caroline. From the time she was a young girl, Caroline has known that she has been called by God to a contemplative religious vocation. Her mother has died and Caroline is forced by her father into a “safe” marriage to a Protestant. Her husband is not unkind, but he is frustrated by his “wife’s” lack of desire. He realizes that her love for him is no different than the love she feels towards all humanity. For Caroline, she must keep her faith secret from her husband. Her vocation is stifled and her suffering is internal. In many ways, Hunt portrays, this is a more difficult suffering to endure. Caroline cannot outwardly practice her faith, but more importantly, she cannot live the vocation to which God is calling her.
This is not a morbid book filled only with death. Nor is it a happy-go-lucky story. It is a difficult story to read because suffering and martyrdom were a way of life for Catholics during a time when religious liberty was ripped away from them. In that regard, the author does an excellent job of illustrating grace in action. Surprisingly, this novel also includes a few underlying theology of the body themes, which I did not expect from a novel that takes place in the 1500’s.
Treason is an artistic masterpiece of Catholic literature and is Catholic fiction at its finest. It has a cast of well-developed, believable characters and beautiful writing, rich in imagery. I savored each sentence and each scene like a piece of fine chocolate. In fact, once I reached the end, I was disappointed. This book is literary candy and I wanted more.
However, this novel is so much more than artistic mastery. Treason is a moving and inspiring reminder that our Catholic faith is a great gift and the freedom to express our faith is also a gift and should never be taken for granted.
This is the kind of book that should become a classic of Catholic literature. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If I could give it more than five stars, I would.
