Book Description
The extraordinary saga of Mother Angelica, founder of the multimillion-dollar Eternal Word Television Network and “the most influential Catholic woman in America” according to Time magazine
In 1981, the year after Ted Turner founded CNN, a simple nun, using merely her entrepreneurial instincts and $200, launched what would become the world’s largest religious media empire in the garage of a Birmingham, Alabama, monastery. Under her guidance, the Eternal Word Television Network grew at a staggering pace, both in viewership and in influence, to where it now reaches over a hundred million viewers in hundreds of countries around the globe.
Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, in 1923, Mother Angelica was abandoned by her father and raised in poverty by a mother who suffered from suicidal depressions. As a young woman, Rita developed severe abdominal pain that doctors dismissed as a “nervous condition,” but when she sought the prayers of a local mystic, her symptoms disappeared. Awakened to the power of prayer, she vowed to dedicate her life to God and became a cloistered nun, expecting to spend her life hidden from the world. But Rita’s faith soon compelled her to unlikely endeavors, from establishing a monastery in Alabama to starting the world’s first Catholic cable network. Relying solely on “God’s providence,” Mother Angelica built an empire without concern for budgets or fund-raising campaigns, achieving what even the highest levels of the Catholic Church had been unable to do.
Raymond Arroyo combines his journalist’s objectivity and eye for detail with more than five years of exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica. He traces Mother Angelica’s tortured rise to success and exposes for the first time the fierce opposition she faced, both inside and outside of her church. It is an inspiring story of survival and proof that one woman’s faith can move more than mountains.
Customer Reviews:
A living saint!.......2007-10-09
Thanks to a friend, who prompted me more than once to read it, I finished reading this story of a living saint. Did I say a living saint? I certainly did. The book made a deep impression on me.
More than anything else, this book reminds us of how real saints are. How perfectly human. And this realization is an incredible call for us to get back on track on our own and real path to sainthood!
Before reading it, I felt I knew a lot about Mother Angelica. We had EWTN whenever we have had satellite TV--which I admit it hasn't been many times or for very long. I liked her and admired her, and had loosely followed some of her life highlights, such as her miraculous walk on TV and her issues with cardinal Mahoney's pastoral letter.
And yet I closed the book feeling that I had met a wonderful friend, and that there is hope for me, and for anyone willing to attempt living a life of faith. It is this personal, the reading of this book. Or it can be anyway.
I want to read it again-- and this time I think I will grab it on audio, read by the author.
Mother Angelica saved me from the depths........2007-09-07
Seven years ago a very rare disease put me in bed for 6 months. I could not stand up on my own. I could walk with a cane once I got up on my feet. Mother Angelica via EWTN saved me from the depths of depression and helped me with my anger about being ill. This book tells her story about how she faced and overcame many illnesses and hardships. Yet, Mother Angelica always loves the people around her. Well written and an excellent read.
See what Trust in God can do in just one life..........2007-07-12
If you want to see what radical love of God can do in a life - this is the book to read. It does not matter if you are Catholic, Orthodox, or of any Christian denomination - this book is a road map of how to "work for God."
The book is written by someone who not only loves her, but acknowledges her faults - and just like all of us, she has many. This is a REAL living breathing human being who encounters the same difficulties we all face. The same emotions, hurts, fears, ailments. And yet, maybe it is because of all this that she could talk to anyone (rich man, poor man, beggar, thief) and help them to see that life is never hopeless.
You'll need to be careful though, one reading of this book will have you pondering a big question -- "Do I really trust God enough to find out his will, and do it?"
I highly, highly recommend this book.
Once you start you won't be able to stop!.......2007-07-04
I meant to listen to the audio CDs over weeks in my car during my commute. Over the first weekend I took all the CDs back into my home and listened to the rest of the book while painting a room. The wonderful thing about the audio is Raymond Arroyo's PERFECT imitation of Mother.
The book is so hopeful - even among the many physical and spiritual trials. Her faithfulness is stunning; it calls all of us to the same faithfulness.
Thank-you Mother.......2007-06-07
I really enjoyed this book and found Mother Angelica to be quite a complex and interesting person. I think Raymond Arroyo did a remarkable job in telling her story without getting in the way. Thank-you Mother Angelica for your passion and the fruits prove your source.. and Thank-you Raymond for a job well done!
Amazon.com
Pilot Tucker Case has a weakness--well, Tuck really has two--and the combination of drinking and sex in the cockpit of the pink Mary Jean Cosmetics Learjet puts him on the front page of papers all over the planet. But he finds another job with a mysterious employer--someone with a brand-new Lear 45-- who's willing to pay Tuck generously and ask no questions about his record. The jet and job are on Alualu, a speck in the Pacific Ocean, and Tucker has nowhere else to go. But first he has to get to Alualu, and once there, he faces a hurricane, Shark People, atypical missionaries, and boredom ... and the responsibilities assigned to him by Capt. Vincent Bennidetti, U.S. Air Force, deceased bomber pilot and present-day deity of the Shark People.
Book Description
Take a wonderfully crazed excursion into the demented heart of a tropical paradise—a world of cargo cults, cannibals, mad scientists, ninjas, and talking fruit bats. Our bumbling hero is Tucker Case, a hopeless geek trapped in a cool guy's body, who makes a living as a pilot for the Mary Jean Cosmetics Corporation. But when he demolishes his boss's pink plane during a drunken airborne liaison, Tuck must run for his life from Mary Jean's goons. Now there's only one employment opportunity left for him: piloting shady secret missions for an unscrupulous medical missionary and a sexy blond high priestess on the remotest of Micronesian hells. Here is a brazen, ingenious, irreverent, and wickedly funny novel from a modern master of the outrageous.
Download Description
Take a wonderfully crazed excursion into the demented heart of a tropical paradise -- a world of cargo cults, cannibals, mad scientists, ninjas, and talking fruit bats. Our bumbling hero is Tucker Case, a hopeless geek trapped in a cool guy's body, who makes a living as a pilot for the Mary Jean Cosmetics Corporation. But when he demolishes his boss's pink plane during a drunken airborne liaison, Tuck must run for his life from Mary Jean's goons. Now there's only one employment opportunity left for him: piloting shady secret missions for an unscrupulous medical missionary and a sexy blond high priestess on the remotest of Micronesian hells. Here is a brazen, ingenious, irreverent, and wickedly funny novel from a modern master of the outrageous.
Customer Reviews:
One of My Faves.......2007-09-22
I can only say that Christopher Moore is a treasure. This book has all of his trademark elements. Goofy fun, a fast, enjoyable read. Highly recommended!
Hilarious.......2007-09-06
From the beginning of this book the characters jump right out at you from the pages. I love Mr. Moore's vivid imagination. Putting down this book was a very hard thing to do, for it kept you captivated. I will read this many many times again. I have borrowed it to my friends and get the same thrilling remarks from them. One of my favorite books so far. I intend to purchase more of Mr. Moore's work. Cannot wait to see what else he has in store for me.
Exploiting Cults.......2007-08-20
In the wild imagination of Christopher Moore, there is little that does not seem at least somewhat out of the ordinary. Taking the phenomenon of cargo cults to foster a black market organ donor program is the scheme that our hero must foil. Along the way, Tucker Case encounters ninjas, dorment cannibals, the talking fruit bat, the Shark People, the Sourcer, a scantly clad Sky Priestess, and a specter. The cast of characters alone make an interesting read.
Tucker worked for Mary Jean Cosmetics Corporation but is forced into exile when he crashes the company jet while unknowingly taking up with a prostitute. Given the prospect of flying for a missionary medical company on a the remote island of Alualu for big bucks, Tucker readily accepts. After discovering the true motives of the medical research team, Tucker must decide whether to compromise his integrity and reap the benefits or to object to their practices. It is only when Tucker becomes alarmed by the list that selects a "chosen" donor next to visit the medical research lab that he decides. Forced to flee, he can not leave the natives behind to be further exploited. The new problem was evacuating 300 natives from the island.
Among the books I have read by Moore, this is not my favorite. I thought the book started too slowly and often lacked the rapid punch of Moore's wit. Yet by the final chapters the story picked up steam and was hard to put down. Even with the flaws the wacky dilemmas of Tucker Case are wildly entertaining.
Mostly Likely the Best of Moore.......2007-07-19
In this book Christopher is just beginning to shape his mold for his semi-pathetic Type B male heros (that you see in every one of his following books). Christopher's characters are fresh, funny and severely off-center.
As an early Christopher book, you can expect his plot in Love Nun to be better thought out, conistent and complete. If you haven't read Moore, this book is a must - Start here. If you are a fan, you may have other favorites, but you have to admit this one totally nails the amuzement park E ride in Christopher's warped and hillarious brain.
Get prepare to laugh.......2007-06-22
Very, very easy to read. I couldn't stop laughing out loud while I was reading on the bus, way to work.
Average customer rating:
- I love this book!!!!
- Divine Mercy Today
- Simply Divine
- INCREDIBLE!!!
- The GENTLE Side of Jesus
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Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (Mass market version): Divine Mercy in My Soul
Saint Maria Faustina Kowalaska
Manufacturer: Marian Press
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The Life of Faustina Kowalska: The Authorized Biography
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Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
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Jesus of Nazareth
ASIN: 1596141107 |
Book Description
This bestselling book that birthed the Divine Mercy movement, one of the fastest growing movements in world today. This amazing narrrative will stir your heart and soul while it chronicles the experience of a simple Polish nun.
Customer Reviews:
I love this book!!!!.......2007-08-21
I really love this book. I use this book as a devotional. If you want to learn more about God's loving mercy, and the chaplet of Divine Mercy this is a great book for you. I am getting a lot out of this book that is helping me with my walk with the Lord.
Divine Mercy Today.......2007-07-28
This is an authentic and most beautiful revelation of God's Mercy, His call to the whole world today to come back to Him. God loves each and every person with an everlasting love which no sin can erase if only we allow ourselves to be open to God's Mercy, love and forgiveness. The world is rushing to its ruin and God's Mercy will protect all who come to Him but He will not force us. No one can read this book without being deeply moved and knowing in truth that there is a God who loves us. The world is not left to chance but God is warning us that evil is self-destructive. Peace is God's gift which He promises by Covenant to all who come to Him. GOD'S WORD CANNOT FAIL.
Simply Divine.......2007-05-18
This book provides an excellent insight into a humble soul truly united with Christ. It's an inspiration to re-examine our own lives to see the how we can unite our sufferings with the Lord and allow Christ to work through us. It also reinforces the message of God's Divine Mercy and God's desire to shower us with His mercy when many may think we do not derserve it or even want it. While we can never merit God's mercy, He truly was working through St. Faustina to spread his message that he wants to give his Mercy to all who accept Him and to the whole world which is in so desperate need of Mercy. Reading this book will make you look at things differently and it is a grace to read.
INCREDIBLE!!! .......2007-02-14
This is my favorite book, which says a lot considering how much I read. St. Faustyna's recordings of the words of Christ, as well as her own, will bring you closer to our Lord. Do not hesitate to buy this book!
The GENTLE Side of Jesus.......2007-01-15
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This book reveals a GENTLE and COMPASSIONATE side of God.
You will read full CONVERSATIONS between Jesus and St. Faustina as well as conversations between Jesus and other types of souls.
Also, there are many visions and words related, both from Jesus and the Blessed Mother.
An ABSOLUTE must read....life changing!
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Amazon.com
Karen Armstrong speaks to the troubling years following her decision to leave the life of a Roman Catholic nun and join the secular world in 1969. What makes this memoir especially fascinating is that Armstrong already wrote about this era once---only it was a disastrous book. It was too soon for her to understand how these dark, struggling years influenced her spiritual development, and she was too immature to protect herself from being be bullied by the publishing world. As a result, she agreed to portray herself only in as "positive and lively a light as possible"---a mandate that gave her permission to deny the truth of her pain and falsify her inner experience. The inspiration for this new approach comes from T. S. Eliot's Ash Wednesday, a series of six poems that speak to the process of spiritual recovery. Eliot metaphorically climbs a spiral staircase in these poems---turning again and again to what he does not want to see as he slowly makes progress toward the light. In revisiting her spiral climb out of her dark night of the soul, Armstrong gives readers a stunningly poignant account about the nature of spiritual growth. Upon leaving the convent, Armstrong grapples with the grief of her abandoned path and the uncertainty of her place in the world. On top of this angst, Armstrong spent years suffering from undiagnosed temporal lobe epilepsy, causing her to have frequent blackout lapses in memory and disturbing hallucinations---crippling symptoms that her psychiatrist adamantly attributed to Armstrong's denial of her femininity and sexuality. The details of this narrative may be specific to Armstrong's life, but the meanin! g she makes of her spiral ascent makes this a universally relevant story. All readers can glean inspiration from her insights into the nature of surrender and the possibilities of finding solace in the absence of hope. Armstrong shows us why spiritual wisdom is often a seasoned gift---no matter how much we strive for understanding, we can't force profound insights to occur simply because our publisher is waiting for them. With her elegant, humble and brave voice, she inspires readers to willingly turn our attention toward our false identities and vigilantly defended beliefs in order to better see the truth and vulnerability of our existence. Herein lies the staircase we can climb to enlightenment. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
In 1962, at age seventeen, Karen Armstrong entered a convent, eager to meet God. After seven brutally unhappy years as a nun, she left her order to pursue English literature at Oxford. But convent life had profoundly altered her, and coping with the outside world and her expiring faith proved to be excruciating. Her deep solitude and a terrifying illness–diagnosed only years later as epilepsy–marked her forever as an outsider. In her own mind she was a complete failure: as a nun, as an academic, and as a normal woman capable of intimacy. Her future seemed very much in question until she stumbled into comparative theology. What she found, in learning, thinking, and writing about other religions, was the ecstasy and transcendence she had never felt as a nun. Gripping, revelatory, and inspirational,
The Spiral Staircase is an extraordinary account of an astonishing spiritual journey.
Customer Reviews:
Inside the Mind of a Religious.......2007-08-25
I read the other reviews on this book, not because I wasn't going to buy it, but to see what others thought. Of course, I was going to buy it, after all this is Karen Armstrong we are talking about here. I am interested in what ever she thinks. I loved the book. I am always interested in stories about people overcoming difficulties. Karen Armstrong had to overcome a lot. It is interesting, to say the least, to know what the religous view of this writer actually is now after she's been through everything she's been through.
The book takes us with her on her spiritual and vocational journey. It answers the question of "Why did she write all those diverse books about God Anyway" I would recommend this book to anyone who in their own spiritual search is looking to see how someone else came through it and ended up apparently whole. This is a book I will keep. I find the last chapter especially captivating and I will need to review it until I can internalize what she is saying so beautifully.
An Engrossing Spiritual Autbiography.......2007-07-20
For those of us that have loved Karen Armstrong through her marvelous scholarly works, a glimpse into the experiences that shaped the scholar can be wonderful. In this book, Armstrong explores the experiences that brought her out of her religious disenchantment to become the fascinating, God-enamored woman that she is today. The pages are by turns heartbreaking, heartwarming and deeply profound. I strongly recommend this magnificent autobiography.
An honest revelation.......2007-06-02
Having read almost all of Karen Armstong's profoundly meaningfull studies I wondered how it all came about. This book provides a very honest insight into the sufferings of a young woman and the origin of her enduring search for the truth about so-called "revealed" religions
Facile and Dishonest.......2007-04-28
Ms. Armstrong has published a brace of well-edited, post-Christian titles. The Spiral Staircase is a sadly biased and one-sided slash against her Catholic roots. Those that have stood between Armstrong and her revisionist goals are poorly presented, while all who supported her are glorified--then are jettisoned in typical cameo fashion. Take, for example, Rebecca, the anorectic nun who stayed (long enough to provide Armstrong a nifty plot device, at least!). Poor emaciated Rebecca is used as a foil to revisit all that was horrific about that beastly convent. Then, when that part of Ms. Armstrong's life is no longer needed, Rebecca is entirely abandoned.
Given that this is the author's second version of the same post-convent events of an earlier book, how much of this text can be considered authentic? Will there be a definitive third title? Who will be the goat this time around? Be careful, it might well be you!! Ms. Armstrong is seemingly not responsible for her life, but many others are. Take care, all.
Ms. Armstrong has seemingly appeared in every other soft, non-offensive Unitarian project around, and she maintains an evangelical adherence to Catholic guilt trips for all moderate-to-orthodox Christians. Read her last dozen pages of this text, and witness her simplistic and absurd analysis for 9/11. She has abandoned her past, yet she claims absolute privaledge to speak for Christianity and monotheism. We are all one, and we should all think like Ms. Armstrong. Fundamentalist much?
A rewarding read; parts worth reading again.......2007-04-07
I have never read any of Karen Armstrong's books, but I have seen many references to her writings and have perused her books at the bookstore and found them interesting. I thought this might be a good book to begin with and I was not disappointed. She is an interesting woman who has opened herself and has shown all the darkest corners of her being in what I found to be a very matter-of-fact way. She certainly has enough baggage from a rather strange past, but I felt she was honest in dealing with her frustrations, her weaknesses, her mistakes, and her achievements. I do find her bitterness at the Catholic Church a bit much at times; surely there was someone in the convent or in her early Catholic life that was a positive influence. She can be a harsh judge of others, but I think she also judges herself harshly at times.
The last chapters of Spiral Staircase are especially interesting and worthy of going back to reread. I find her explanation of the paradox of the absent God and as she says "a presence in my life" insightful. Her analogy of ascending a spiral staircase and her spiritual journey is so apt. Ms. Armstrong has done for me something that I do not have the time, skill, or intellect to do and that is to step back from the boundaries of a very traditional religious upbringing and take a much larger view of this unnameable force in our lives that we so innocently and ineffectually call God.
I would also recommend The Seven Storey Mountain by the Trappist monk Thomas Merton (who is referred to in the last pages of Spiral Staircase). Thomas Merton's faith journey leads to the Catholic Church rather than away from it, but I believe the ultimate destination of both Merton and Armstrong are not that far from each other.
Average customer rating:
- Simple Path
- A simple path anyone can travel
- Dave from Carlsbad
- Inspiring
- A good reminder
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Simple Path
Mother Teresa
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Everything Starts from Prayer: Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People
ASIN: 0345397452
Release Date: 1995-10-31 |
Book Description
Known around the globe for her indefatigable work on behalf of the poor, the sick, and the dying, Mother Teresa has devoted her life to giving hope to the hopeless in more than one hundred and twenty countries. She inspires us all to find a way to translate our spiritual beliefs into action in the world. How has one woman accomplished so much? And what are the guiding principles that have enabled this humble nun to so profoundly effect the lives of millions?
Now, in her own words, Mother Teresa shares the thoughts and experiences that have led her to do her extraordinary charitable work. A candid look at her everyday life--at the very simplicity and self-sacrifice that give her the strength to move mountains--A Simple Path gives voice to the remarkable spirit who has dedicated her life to the poorest among us.
Just as important as her beliefs are how they are put into action in the world, and A Simple Path also tells the story of the founding of the Missionaries of Charity, their purpose and practice, and the results of their tireless work. Through faith, surrender, and prayer, the missionaries live to serve others; they have improved the lives of countless souls and given dignity to the dying. Their mission has also produced a ripple effect, spreading human compassion to communities where there is need.
Through these examples, as well as the uplifting words and guiding prayers of Mother Teresa and those who work with her, everyone can learn how to walk the simple path that Mother Teresa has laid out for us, to help create a truly kinder world for the future.
A Simple Path is a unique spiritual guide for Catholics and non-Catholics alike: full of wisdom and hope from the one person who has given us the greatest model of love in action in our time.
Customer Reviews:
Simple Path.......2007-09-24
Most excellent writing. Use the steps in my daily spiritual life. Have used the book for workshops/meetings/sermons...she is a true spiritual guide! I often give this book to a number of friends. Mother Teresa truly exemplifies the life of Our Savior!
A simple path anyone can travel.......2007-08-04
I am a devotee of Mother Teresa. I am not catholic. But I have been intrigued and drawn to her compassion, her mission and her determination. I have watched her move in the hightest political circles without compromising her mission and her message. This book has removed the rhetoric of all religions and exposed the essence of being a "Christ"ian.
The message is truly Simple. Our entrapments are what get in our way but she shows us ways to lighten our load and take the simple path.
This book is for anyone who wants to enrich their spiritual life and celebrate in action the words of their faith, regardless of your faith base.
Dave from Carlsbad.......2007-01-15
Mother Teresa's mission and how she answered her calling shine through this as a great example for us to follow. What is revealed in this book is how we can each follow the simple path to peace in our own lives. Not having to sell all we possess and serve the poorest of the poor as she did, but in our own lives with those we meet. A few of the writings, including The Simple Path, are so moving to me, that I bought many copies of this book to give to others. What better gift could we offer someone than a path to peace? Hope you find it too.
Inspiring.......2004-06-17
I bought this book about 6 years ago. It's one of those books that you pick up and cannot put down. I was totally enthralled with it from the first few pages and every chapter became more and more inspiring. I was not a Christian when I read this book, so it's not just for believers. Rather it is a book for those who long for something more in their lfe, to walk in a deeper yet more 'simple' way. All of the chapters such as the ones on prayer, love, faith etc touched me deeply and even though it's been several years since I read it, I would read it again most definately. I lent it to someone and have never been given it back. I may just have to buy it again! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A good reminder.......2004-06-01
This book is a good reminder of how to love. Many of us discuss, debate and guess at what real love looks like. This book reminds us that love can range from serving to just holding someone who is living their last days. This book often wisely suggests that we could preach less and serve more. Inspiring.
Book Description
In 1986 Dr. David Snowdon, one of the world’s leading experts on Alzheimer’s disease, embarked on a revolutionary scientific study that would forever change the way we view aging—and ultimately living. Dubbed the “Nun Study” because it involves a unique population of 678 Catholic sisters, this remarkable long-term research project has made headlines worldwide with its provocative discoveries.
Yet
Aging with Grace is more than a groundbreaking health and science book. It is the inspiring human story of these remarkable women—ranging in age from 74 to 106—whose dedication to serving others may help all of us live longer and healthier lives.
Totally accessible, with fascinating portraits of the nuns and the scientists who study them,
Aging with Grace also offers a wealth of practical findings:
• Why building linguistic ability in childhood may protect against Alzheimer’s
• Which ordinary foods promote longevity and healthy brain function
• Why preventing strokes and depression is key to avoiding Alzheimer’s
• What role heredity plays, and why it’s never too late to start an exercise program
• How attitude, faith, and community can add years to our lives
A prescription for hope,
Aging with Grace shows that old age doesn’t have to mean an inevitable slide into illness and disability; rather it can be a time of promise and productivity, intellectual and spiritual vigor—a time of true grace.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I thought...........2007-09-29
I really thought this would be a dry scientific book about results, showing graphs, etc, but it was not at all! The nuns told him he could only study them if he promised to get to know them, and he followed their wishes completely. I'm trying to make my sentences as long as possible and if you read the book, you'll know why and think I'm hopeless! The author has a wonderful way of weaving their lives into what he has discovered, as he leaves each little pause in the chapters with a sentence to make you want to read the next to see what they discovered about it. I learned a lot about what we have a little influence over in our own physical lives and what we might not. It's a very easy read. Oops! Short sentence. My bad!
Very Inspirational for young researchers.......2007-07-23
As a young geriatrist and researcher I found Dr Snowdon's scientific experience told in such a personal way very inspirational, puts into perpective and unwraps much of what aging and clinical research is about.
I found also amazing his ability to read details in each of the nuns lives named in the book to make conclusions related to how to become old in a "longer, healthier and more meaningful" way.
A "must read" book for everyone interested in gerontology...perhaps all of us: the aging people.
Great read for many reasons.......2007-01-23
Ordered for a class related to epidemiology and nursing. Turns out i would have loved it regardless. A scientist collects data from a unique nun population in search of data which leads him on a extensive journey related to Alzheimer's disease. Personal and subjective. Informative and endearing. Would and have recommended to many. Easy read.
The Nuns Have It.......2007-01-21
If your idea of nuns is none having fun, get ready for a surprise. Dr. Snowden made a study of 678 nuns, called The Nun Study. Many signed up to donate their brains to science, once having shed the mortal coil, for a study of alzheimer's disease. How thoughtful of the good sisters, one thinks, who, of course, in the dark, dank, life denying precincts of cloistered religion, of course all succumbed to this sad, mind- ravaging disease, after having soldiered on for so long, denied even life's smallest pleasures.
All true to form, except that's not what happened. The surprise is how many didn't get alzheimers, how many might be said to have cartwheeled rather than trudged on beyond a century, how many given unto helping the poor and AIDS patients retained their mental acuity and, if I may say, lust for life, and went dancing, as it were, towards the grave.
Contrast this with the absolutely opposite view of so many aging Baby Boomers (of whom I am one), who absolutely fear death, in the sense of trying to drag out existence as long as possible, who absolutely fear existence in the sense of trying to jazz it up and jam it full of diversions and amusements as much as possible, who having fearlessly announced that we are alone in the universe, absolutely fear being alone and, being in denial and avoidance of making any sort of plans for the sunset years, as well as having an aversion to any sort of community, continually pile psychic burdens on the tiny nuclear families of Generations X and beyond whom they expect to devote their modest resources to the full- time allaying of these fears.
The good doctor writes a lot about his relations with the Sisters in a likeable, chatty style, which is probably the main reason to read this book. But he sometimes gets rather technical about the research side, and you can't help hoping to seize on the magic formula for a long and healthy life. While the results are dramatic, his tone is tentative, but the helpers are pretty much what you thought: tomatoes (especially cooked ones), pink grapefruit, watermelon, spinach and dark green leafy vegetables (Popeye was right), carrots, nuts and beans. Pretty much the diet most Baby Boomers have switched to. Readers will like the next part. As they always suspected, a somewhat high "idea" quotient is good for something. The young, active brain likely grows into, no surprise, the mature active brain. Those of you not in the 40 percent who actively read books may want to start with this one. This recent paperback edition is a great deal; it used to be a $25 hardback.
A Glimpse into Elder Appreciation.......2007-01-03
David Snowdon has done an incredible job of sharing his research in the Nun Study with all of us. His understanding of the Grace-filled lives of these nuns in their years of service comes across in a truly genuine manner of respect. He not only helps the reader understand some of the mysteries of Alzheimer's, but he also helps to dispel some of the panicky myths that abound in our society. His title is not just a clue to the content; it is the content of his book. This is a MUST read for anyone who has a family member who shows signs of dementia or has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Amazon.com
Everyone knows that Galileo Galilei dropped cannonballs off the leaning tower of Pisa, developed the first reliable telescope, and was convicted by the Inquisition for holding a heretical belief--that the earth revolved around the sun. But did you know he had a daughter? In Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel (author of the bestselling Longitude) tells the story of the famous scientist and his illegitimate daughter, Sister Maria Celeste. Sobel bases her book on 124 surviving letters to the scientist from the nun, whom Galileo described as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and tenderly attached to me." Their loving correspondence revealed much about their world: the agonies of the bubonic plague, the hardships of monastic life, even Galileo's occasional forgetfulness ("The little basket, which I sent you recently with several pastries, is not mine, and therefore I wish you to return it to me").
While Galileo tangled with the Church, Maria Celeste--whose adopted name was a tribute to her father's fascination with the heavens--provided moral and emotional support with her frequent letters, approving of his work because she knew the depth of his faith. As Sobel notes, "It is difficult today ... to see the Earth at the center of the Universe. Yet that is where Galileo found it." With her fluid prose and graceful turn of phrase, Sobel breathes life into Galileo, his daughter, and the earth-centered world in which they lived. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of Galileo's daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man Albert Einstein called "the father of modern physics- indeed of modern science altogether." Galileo's Daughter also presents a stunning portrait of a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me."
The son of a musician, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) tried at first to enter a monastery before engaging the skills that made him the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left Italy, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. Most sensationally, his telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to reinforce the astounding argument that the Earth moves around the Sun. For this belief, he was brought before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and forced to spend his last years under house arrest.
Of Galileo's three illegitimate children, the eldest best mirrored his own brilliance, industry, and sensibility, and by virtue of these qualities became his confidante. Born Virginia in 1600, she was thirteen when Galileo placed her in a convent near him in Florence, where she took the most appropriate name of Suor Maria Celeste. Her loving support, which Galileo repaid in kind, proved to be her father's greatest source of strength throughout his most productive and tumultuous years. Her presence, through letters which Sobel has translated from their original Italian and masterfully woven into the narrative, graces her father's life now as it did then.
Galileo's Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Moving between Galileo's grand public life and Maria Celeste's sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity's perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. In that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years' War tipped fortunes across Europe, one man sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope.
With all the human drama and scientific adventure that distinguished Dava Sobel's previous book Longitude, Galileo's Daughter is an unforgettable story.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting subject, thin prose........2007-09-29
My real issue with this book is that Sobel's writing leaves me cold. I had avoided reading this for a long time because I had not really enjoyed Longitude. But countless critical raves and the response from friends caused me to decide to give Galileo's Daughter a try.
The subject matter is interesting enough. The book is very little about Galileo's daughter and is more a book about the man himself. That is not really a bad thing, since there is sadly not very much to know about Suor Maria Celeste. The episodes Sobel chooses to highlight are interesting, and I believe she succeeds in making Galileo human to the readers.
I would be hard pressed to say what exactly it is that I do not like about Sobel as a writer. It is not something that I can easily articulate. I think that it has something to do with the fact that her prose feels like an overextended magazine article. Both in Longitude and in this book, I felt as though the material were too thin for the weight that she was trying to hang on the pages. I am not sure that this is true, and suspect it may have something to do with the structure. In any case, with both books I had the experience that I was quite impatient with the prose even as I was interested in the material.
If you are interested in scientific history and in the mood for some reasonably light reading, then my review should not discourage you from picking up Galileo's Daughter. Myself, I am probably going to avoid Sobel in the future.
Galileo imprisoned for furthering a truth that disagreed with biblical writings and Christian teachings: a daughter's view.......2007-09-29
At sixty-eight years of age, Galileo, a Catholic, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for writing a philosophical story in support of the Copernican sun-centered universe theory. Unfortunately for him (and the truth), it was in conflict with the wording of the bible (p 62):
"O lord my God, Thou art great indeed....Thou fixed the Earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever.[103:1,5]
The actions leading up to that event make up the majority of the book, which distinguishes itself from other biographies by its inclusion of the content of letters written by his elder daughter, Virginia, who was born in 1600 and "adopted the name Maria Celeste when she became a nun" at age thirteen. Because Galileo's letters were destroyed, the majority of what we learn about him is through her writings, which is both the book's strength and its weakness. In fact, it might more aptly be titled, Galileo's Daughter's Letters: a view of his life from behind the walls of the nunnery. Because there are no letters before she became a teenager, little is known about that part of her life. And although it is reader friendly, even for the non-scientifically minded, it could have been shortened by a fourth to a half of its 420 pages without losing much in readability and coverage of the most important aspects of Galileo's life.
FAMILY PORTRAIT.......2007-07-11
A violent and unruly age is the setting for this story of the relationship between Galileo and his illegitimate daughter Maria Celestes (born Virginia). Placed in a convent at the age of thirteen, she spent her remaining years loyal to the hard life of her order, the Poor Clares, and to her infamous father. While not engaged in a "typical" father daughter relationship, the 124 letters written by Marie Celestes to her father offers the reader an insight into the intense personal devotion that developed between the two........ as well as a retelling of Galileo's notorious clash with the Inquisition and his subsequent trial for heresy as seen through his daughters eyes.
Along the way, we are exposed to the horrors of the bubonic plague as it rampages through Italy, the problems with travel and communication, the loss and damage caused by the 30 years war, and a vicarious trip into the garish lifestyle of Galileo's patrons, the Medicis.
This is truly more a story of Galileo than his daughter, but nevertheless interesting. Reading this story brings to the forefront the several interesting situations and provokes the reader to examine and compare life in the 17th century with our lives today. For example: (1) the reaction of the populace to bubonic plague versus our initial reaction to the AIDS epidemic, (2) the continuing tenuous and conflicted relationship between science and religion (stem cell research, etc.), (3) the opposition to the acceptance of revolutionary new discoveries over established methods, (4) the curtailment of freedom to pursue thought and speech that is contradictory to what is considered acceptable (attempted censorship of the conservative media).
Ms. Sobel's love for her subject matter is obvious in every word she put to paper.
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love.......2007-05-20
The Seventeenth century was the most significant period after the fall of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire fell apart, all knowledge of the Romans was lost. However, all this knowledge slowly recovered when the Reformations, Renaissance, and Science Revolution were initiated. People brought back the Classic Age that had been lost. Art, music, and literature were not difficult to revive, but science was. When the Classic Age ended, and after the Black Plague, people believed all the teachings of the church were right. People against the Church's teachings were considered heretics.
This book, Galileo's Daughter: A historical memoir of science, faith, and love by Dava Sobel, starts with a letter from Galileo's daughter, Maria. In her letters, the readers can learn many details of the 1600's. Even though she is a nun, she supports his father and does not consider him as heretic because she knew that his theory was the truth. When Galileo saw that the Copernicus's ideas were more likely to be true than Ptolemy's established philosophy, he began the teaching it in defiance of the Catholic Church. However, he was forced to recant his theory. Despite opposition of the Catholic Church, Galileo publishes Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican. Because of that, his book was banned, and he encountered peril. He was put on trial for heresy and convicted. Maria Celeste was insightful, grandiloquent, and loved her father as he loved her. Regardless of her occupation, she supported her father through the trials. Although Galileo and Maria sent letters back and forth, Galileo's letters to Maria are nowhere to be found.
At first, I thought this book was about the story of Sour Maria Celeste and her relationship with her father, Galileo. However, this book manifested the struggles Galileo went through externally and internally. Because he was a religious man, he had a hard time fighting for what was right, his theory over the teachings of the Church. At the end of the book is very poignant moment, when Galileo's body was finally allowed to be placed in the monument.
I recommend this book to other students completing this assignment because it shows Galileo's accomplishments, and much more. This book is profound to the extension that as a daughter, I could see the father and daughter relationship, and how that relationship has effected Galileo I become one of the most extolled scientists in the world.
THE EARTH ALSO RISES:.......2007-03-20
It is a fascinating tale of a father, a devout Catholic, obedient son and above all a scientist, astronomer, and a philosopher, decades ahead of his time. He paved the way for all future discoveries and revelations in Physics and Astronomy. Newton, who was born the year Galileo died, did stand squarely on Galileo's shoulders to go where no man had gone before .
It is Galileo's courage and conviction that we so admire in facing Pope Urban's ire and ridicule in the 17th century Italy. Popes come and go but the name of Galileo would shine for ever as long as the Jovian moons would orbit their planet. His brilliant "dialogues" on astronomy, wave theory, motion and scores of other subjects were the foundation of everything we know today about anything.
Even today, it is sad to say, there are remnants of Urban's ilk all over the world that cling to creation theory and even believe that Ptolemy was right.
Galileo had two daughters and a son. Tradition forced him to enroll the girls in the convent hoping to find suitable husbands if not marry them to Christ and spend rest of their lives as nuns. Sister Maria Celeste, the older daughter, a paragon of virtue, devotes her entire life in serving others and above all to take care of her dear father. Her letters are down to earth, personal, articulate and at times with a touch of humor.
The book narrates Galileo's epic journey from early childhood, as a medical student even contemplating on becoming a priest. He eventually gets his degree in physics and engineering, his true calling, and then becomes a professor at prestigious university at Padua. Medici's hire him as their court advisor. His experiments from the leaning tower of Pisa are known to all of us who took any science in school. His books promote Sun being the center of the universe confirming Copernicus's theory. The church clinging to Bible's version of a stationary Earth is outraged and begins its ignominious inquisition, sentencing the aged scientist to house arrest where he dies, blind and heart broken.
The book's other protagonist, the ever loving daughter, whose letters to her father are interspersed throughout the book, makes a interesting and noble contrast to the dogmatic, self centered pious hypocrites of Church in Rome.
It is MUST read.
Average customer rating:
- Another winner
- Every rose has its thorn
- Cheryl - Colorado
- Patron Saint of Liars: Patchett Teaches Life's Asymmetry
- Loved it!
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The Patron Saint of Liars: A Novel
Ann Patchett
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
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Autobiography of a Face
ASIN: 0060540753
Release Date: 2003-03-18 |
Book Description
St. Elizabeth's is a home for unwed mothers in the 1960s. Life there is not unpleasant, and for most, it is temporary. Not so for Rose, a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes to the home pregnant but not unwed. She plans to give up her baby because she knows she cannot be the mother it needs. But St. Elizabeth's is near a healing spring, and when Rose's time draws near, she cannot go through with her plans, not all of them. And she cannot remain forever untouched by what she has left behind ... and who she has become in the leaving.
Customer Reviews:
Another winner.......2007-07-18
This book was a good read and rates as high as her other books I've read: The Magician's Assistant and BelCanto. Patchett's style is unlike any other author I've read.
Every rose has its thorn.......2007-06-12
This marked my first foray into Patchett, and I feel fortunate that someone insisted I read it. For one, Patchett's style allows the reader to view this family life from three very different perspectives, which--as an afterthought--may enable us to personally wonder how our own patchworked families operate. Is everything as it seems to be? What do we hold out from one another? Do we really know or want to know all of the details of our spouses or parents? As an aside, the novel shows how unwed mothers may have felt during a time when they were shunned, forced to live secluded lives of "visiting" out-of-town relatives for six to eight months. I felt a sense of empathy for each character, including Rose who could never enjoy her life. Overall, this web is a gem.
Cheryl - Colorado.......2007-06-10
I really like Bel Canto but loved The Patron Saint of Liars. So many times a notable author's follow-up book is not good (e.g. Sue Monk Kidd). Ann Patchett's book was lyrical and moving. You feel each of the characters deep in your soul. A most incredible book! A must read!
Patron Saint of Liars: Patchett Teaches Life's Asymmetry.......2007-05-31
As she does in Bel Canto, Patchett draws her reader in with good prose and a compelling story. Whenever I had to leave Patron Saint of Liars, I marked time until I could get back and have Patchett tell me whatever she wanted to. But disappointment followed encouragement. Like her protagonist, Rose, Patchett leaves us three times, to enter abruptly into Son's life and then into Cecelia's, and then again at the end to form our own conclusions about so many issues she has raised. I yearned for resolution, for Son to tell Thomas and Cecelia the truth about Cecelia's father. I wanted Rose to come back or at least to explain why she left. But I've reconsidered: real life is not symmetrical or synchronous: sometimes there is no reason or resolution; sometimes we miss fulfillment by just seconds or hours. Prayers are not answered directly. And your deepest wish may not come true for you but for someone close to you, someone who has no use for it and no idea you ever dreamed at all. That's how Patchett rewards her reader. I think I can handle her next book now.
Loved it!.......2007-05-28
I love Ann Patchett's usage of language.
The characters were so complicated and hard to relate to:especially Rose. However, Patchett is able to entice us into her story.
Average customer rating:
- Thought-provoking...
- "What do you do when you're not sure?"
- One of the best play I have ever read...
- Doubt - A Parable (?)
- Kicking the Habit
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Doubt: A Parable
John Patrick Shanley
Manufacturer: Theatre Communications Group
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Binding: Paperback
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Rabbit Hole
ASIN: 1559362766
Release Date: 2005-04-26 |
Book Description
"A superb new drama written by John Patrick Shanley. It is an inspired study in moral uncertainty with the compellingly certain structure of an old-fashioned detective drama. Even as Doubt holds your conscious attention as an intelligently measured debate play, it sends off stealth charges that go deeper emotionally. One of the year's ten best."-Ben Brantley, The New York Times
"[The] #1 show of the year. How splendid it feels to be trusted with such passionate, exquisite ambiguity unlike anything we have seen from this prolific playwright so far. Blunt yet subtle, manipulative but full of empathy for all sides, the play is set in 1964 but could not be more timely. Doubt is a lean, potent drama . . . passionate, exquisite, important, and engrossing."-Linda Winer, Newsday
Chosen as the best play of the year by over 10 newspapers and magazines, Doubt is set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, where a strong-minded woman wrestles with conscience and uncertainty as she is faced with concerns about one of her male colleagues. This new play by John Patrick Shanley-the Bronx-born-and-bred playwright and Academy Award-winning author of Moonstruck-dramatizes issues straight from today's headlines within a world re-created with knowing detail and a judicious eye. After a stunning, sold-out production at Manhattan Theatre Club, the play has transferred to Broadway.
John Patrick Shanley is the author of numerous plays, including Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Dirty Story, Four Dogs and a Bone, Psychopathia Sexualis, Sailor's Song, Savage in Limbo, and Where's My Money?. He has written extensively for TV and film, and his credits include the teleplay for Live from Baghdad and screenplays for Congo, Alive, Five Corners, Joe Versus the Volcano (which he also directed), and Moonstruck, for which he won an Academy Award for original screenplay.
Customer Reviews:
Thought-provoking..........2007-05-21
This is an amazing play. It is very well-written, and the character-driven plot is difficult to tear yourself away from. Even though at times it is somewhat ambiguous, I thoroughly enjoyed this play and would gladly recommend it. I can't wait for the film to come out - Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep are perfectly cast in my opinion.
"What do you do when you're not sure?".......2007-03-06
I saw "Doubt" this weekend down in the Twin Cities. While you are more likely to see a national touring company of a Tony Award winning musical, such as "The Light in the Piazza" (which we will see in a couple of weeks), Tony Award winning dramas do make it out to the hinterlands from time to time. What was rare was that the cast was headed by Cherry Jones, who won her second Tony Award for originating the role of Sister Aloysius on Broadway. Usually you have to go to New York City to see the stars in the show (or maybe Los Angeles, which is where I saw Michael Crawford do "Phantom"), so this was a real treat. The draw might have been an award-winning actress, but by the end of the performance the star is John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize winning play.
"Doubt: A Parable" is set in a parochial school in the Bronx in the Autumn of 1964 and begins with a homily by Father Flynn that questions the role of doubt in the modern world and sets the stage for the drama. The priest asks the audience, "What do you do when you're not sure?" Then Sister Aloysius, the principal of the school, has a meeting in her office with young Sister James, who is warned about being too passionate about teaching history to her students in general and in particular not to turn FDR into a secular saint. Sister Aloysius is not a sympathetic figure, especially given that our introduction to the nun is to watch her crush the joy of teaching out of a young teacher. However, then she makes Sister James aware that she has concerns for a new student, Donald Mueller, the school's first black child. Her concern is not because of the boy's race, but because she suspects Flynn has been "interfering" with the boy.
Distance makes it difficult to remember the times, but an undercurrent of the play is how Sister Aloysius is strictly old school while Father Flynn has embraced the directives of the Second Vatican Council to make the clergy more accessible to their parish and become like "members of their family." Shanley does not get into deep theological issues but finds a telling point of contention in Sister Aloysius' dismissal of the song "Frosty the Snowman" as an example of paganism. Yet despite our lack of agreement with her strict conservatism, it is impossible not to be concerned about Sister Aloysisus' suspicions regarding the charismatic young priest who likes his fingernails to be slightly long.
I have a background in competitive debate so one of the things I appreciated in Shanley's drama is how he balances the two sides to create the requisite titular state. When I was dissecting the play with my wife on the way home from the theater I discovered that while I (male Italian raised Lutheran) was looking at the play from the assumption of the priest's innocence, she (female Irish raised Catholic) was assuming he was guilty. Of course the play works both ways, but certainly there have been more than enough headlines about stories of abuse in the Catholic Church in the past decade to make it easier for the play's audience to jump to the same conclusion as Sister Aloysius.
Coming to a decision as to the "truth" of what happened between Father Flynn and the young boy is a question of when you decide to place your bet on who to beleive. Sister Aloysius begins the play with her suspicions and moves towards certainty on her own timetable. Sister James serves as a warning not to decide too early, but Shanley clearly wants us to come to our own decisions before the drama's "resolution." Waiting until you are sure is to repeat Hamlet's tragic error, which is not to say that Sister Aloysius is the Dane's opposite because she is not guilty of the proverbial rush to judgment. The term "reasonable doubt" is never used in the play, but it certainly comes into play as the nun commits to certainty in advance of having absolute proof, mainly because being denied such proof cannot, in her mind at least, preclude action. Sister Aloysius wants to know what really happened between Father Flynn and Donald, even if the boy's mother is willing to turn a blind eye.
For me the point at which Sister Aloysius becomes heroic is when Father Flynn threatens her for her refusal to follow Church protocols. He seeks to convince her that she has no choice, because failure to obey would basically send her to Hell for disobedience. But she sees her self in the same danger is she falls to do what she can to save one of her children, and in her decision to damn herself for the right reason and his decision to coerce rather than persuade is where my doubts were erased. For me the most delicious irony is the way Sister Aloysius' crucial phone call mirrors Father Flynn's point earlier in the play about the value of true stories. The final line of the play is also dripping with irony in a very conscious effort by Shanley to leave his audience exactly as he wants them to be.
One of the best play I have ever read..........2007-01-19
I knew the basic idea behind this show when I ordered it but I didn't expect anything this powerful. When I finished it I just sat it down and said "Wow". Without a doubt this is one of the most powerful plays I have ever read. The Father's monologue on gossip just blew me away. This show is written for an African American woman to play one of the parts. I think you can tweak the show so you can play it with a non-African American in the role but I never like the idea of messing with a play like that. I know that sounds terrible but it is a reality in the theater that I work in. We are in a rural area and simply never have actors of any non-white ethnicity come out for shows. It's just a sad fact of where we live. This show is simply fabulous and I would love to direct it.
Doubt - A Parable (?).......2006-11-10
Doubt is a superb piece of theater. Shanley is one of America's top playwrights and screen writers; and he does his best work since "Moonstruck." The play is, in my opinion, NOT a parable. The ending is questionable and the message is murky.
Don't let that discourage you. The play and the book will give you more for your money than you will find anywhere else this season.
The philosophy you'll find in the book and playbill. The drama you'll find at the play.
Kicking the Habit.......2006-05-09
Are there times in the course of human endeavors where the end justifies the means? Are there times when mere suspicion is sufficient to take up arms against a potential threat? Suppose the potential victim is a child and the suspected predator is a person of power. Suppose the suspect is your superior? Suppose you are a nun and he is a priest. Do you act to stop him without proof? How much proof of harm, potential harm, do you need? Does the way the priest looks at the boy provide sufficient reason for a nun to interfere? Suppose the evidence of that "look" came to the nun second hand. Then what? What should the nun do?
The nun is Sister Aloysius, a worldly older nun. A disciplinarian. A traditionalist. She's wary of the young parish priest, Father Flynn, who makes up interesting parables that teach and inspire. Sister Aloysius is also uncomfortable with the fact that Father Flynn seems to enjoy playing basketball with the boys just a little too much. She's uncomfortable with the fact that the boys like rather than fear Father Flynn. In short, Sister Aloysius has doubts. She has doubts, serious doubts about Father Flynn. She decides.....No, she is compelled, compelled by doubt, serious doubt...compelled to act. Damn the facts! Damn the consequences! In the pursuit of wrongdoing, a nun has to do what a nun has to do. If the destuction of a man's reputation is the price to assure the safety of a child, then no doubt that's the way it has to be...Right?
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