No Strangers to Violence, No Strangers to Love

by Boniface Hanley

Includes Thomas Dooley, Edith Stein, Charles de Foucauld, Vincent Lebbe, Franz Jaegerstaetter, Eve Lavalliere, Titus Brandsma, and Miguel Pro.
"These people, whose stories I so briefly relate in this modest little book, were no strangers to our century's [20th] rampant violence. War, revolution, suicide, or genocide trapped them as it did so many of us. The Nazis and Communists killed five of them. One wore out his life in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Another died in China during the communist revolution. A nervous teenager assassinated one another; another saw her father fatally shoot her mother and then kill himself. Each of them refused to despair. Instead, these bitter realities became for every one of them the occasion for profound human growth. In the midst of terror, they found God." [from author's foreword]

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting overview of several people who did great things for their faith. Many died for their Catholic beliefs. They came from various backgrounds as well. I had only heard of one of them previously and that was Dr. Thomas Dooley who did so much for the refugees from North Vietnam who were fleeing the Communists. I would rather have had fewer people and more depth but as a starting point for biographies of people of faith it is not a bad place to start. They are from all over the world. The writing is concise and easy to read. Often there are quotes from the person on their beliefs. Quite a few pictures as well in spite of some of them being from the mid-1800's.

[Annie Garvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartfelt