Saint Everywhere

May 1, 2019
In this delightful piece of narrative nonfiction, a middle-aged, upper-middle-class woman decides that whenever she travels, she will visit a shrine or site of one the Catholic Church's female saints. It is a visit to Sienna, Italy, home of St. Catherine, that first sparks Carroll's interest. As Carroll shows, Catherine was a woman whose saintly acts, as well as her involvement in politics, made her a unique role model both in the fourteenth century and today. Once her interest is sparked, Carroll soon finds her "lady saints," as she calls them, becoming the most important parts of both her travels and her faith journey. Writing in an utterly unaffected tone and bringing a resonant universality to her musings, she invites readers to come along, whether she is being impressed by the bold business sense of Mother Cabrini, moving through the sacred space that holds the cloak of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or meeting the mystical at Medjugorje. Different religions notwithstanding, most readers will be all in for this journey?learning, enjoying, and pondering in equal measure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)