"It arrived at just the perfect time. On a bright Friday afternoon, coming home from the hospital with our newest baby, we stopped by the mailbox, and there it was, all wrapped in white: Grace Cafe by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, my newest review book from The Catholic Company. I was looking forward to it because I hadn't liked either of my other two review books and, well, I figured something had to give. I was delighted from the start. I loved this book for its conversational style, its short, easy to read chapters, its encouraging tone, and its very practical advice. In fact, I'll likely read it again before fall, just to make sure all that encouragement and good advice sinks in. :-) I loved it best of all for its clear portrayal faithful Catholic mothers as dignified, beautiful, and, yes, even heroic. Now when was the last time you thought of yourself as heroic?
Weaving into her own experiences advice from Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II, Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle encourages us toward holiness with warmth and wisdom. She covers everything from finding time for prayer to self sacrifice to raising our children to be saints to keeping the Sabbath to living in the present moment. There is a lot to think on and glean here. Just to keep it real, though, I'll air my only complaint about this book. (Of course I have a complaint. I'm a picky reader.) There are way too many exclamation points. Those things should be used sparingly, in my opinion, and never twice in a row. Still, that's pretty minor, don't you think? You'll like this book. I think it would make lovely Lenten reading, if you haven't settled already on something else. As for me, I already have another of her books in my shopping cart. Even over-used exclamations can't keep me away."
Visit Jennie's blog here.
Thank you very much, Jennie, for your lovely review. I'm glad that you enjoyed my book. Congratulations on your new baby!
God bless!
Donna-Marie
PS The exclamation points hopefully convey a much needed expression of joy in our lives. :)
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