Excited to announce my upcoming book!

Releasing in March 2013 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Company

More details to follow as we get closer to the release!

“Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry!”

“Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry!”

My recent experiences at the hospital with my husband. I feel compelled to share them to inspire others about the power of prayer and God's amzing grace!

Prom pics, coming up...

I'll post a few prom pictures from my daughter's senior prom which was last night. It's been a very busy day and getting late now, so until tomorrow...

Sweet dreams!

Donna-Marie

PS Don't forget to check out my new blog: View from the Domestic Church

My new blog: View From the Domestic Church

Check out the new blog I started and pass the word! It's View From the Domestic Church

God bless your week end!

Donna-Marie

New Review of Grace Cafe

"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.

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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. :)

Reviews of my new books!

Karen Edmisten has posted reviews of my new books at her blog. I have printed them below...ENJOY!

Grace Cafe: Serving up Recipes for Faithful Mothering

Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle is a prolific writer. Her latest books -- yes, plural! Two of them! -- are as lovely and inspirational as her other work, most of which is built on the conviction that mothers are living out an indispensable vocation.


Grace Cafe offers "recipes" that will nourish any mother, perhaps especially anyone struggling with her vocation as a stay-at-home mom. I readily identified with this passage:

"Others would say, 'Oh, it's nice that you have the luxury to stay home.'

Yet I believe that it is not a luxury. It is a choice and a decision to do without some material things and comforts ...."
This has certainly been true in our case. At times, it doesn't feel like a luxury at all to be at home, but rather like the sacrifice that it is. Don't get me wrong -- I love being an at-home mom, and it is a privilege. But a privilege is not the same as a luxury. Serving God is always a privilege, even when it's hard. Financially, emotionally, and in other ways, being a stay-at-home mom can be hard. But mothering has eternal value, and Donna-Marie knows this truth.

The truth is reinforced with quotes from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, and various saints. And, don't all moms need such authoritative and powerful reinforcement? Particularly the kind that helps us to find holiness within our homes, rather than encouraging us to seek it elsewhere. Grace Cafe includes one of my favorite quotes on holiness for moms:

"It is most laudable in a married woman to be devout, but she must never forget that she is a housewife. And sometimes she must leave God at the altar to find him in her housekeeping."

The Domestic Church: Room by Room: A Mother's Study Guide

The Domestic Church: Room by Room covers much of the same territory, but Donna-Marie never seems to exhaust it. Though an individual would benefit from reading, this book is arranged as a study guide for a group, with discussion questions at the end of each section. (And, pssst ... don't worry, busy moms -- the answers are there, too! So don't worry about passing class.)


The Domestic Church, like all of Donna-Marie's books, backs up its exhortation with solid sources such as quotes from Scripture, encyclicals and saints.

I love Donna-Marie's realism, too. In this book, she includes a beautiful quote from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta:

"A living love hurts. Jesus, to prove His love for us, died on the Cross. The mother, to give birth to her child, has to suffer. If you really love one another properly, there must be sacrifice."
And she honestly addresses "temptations to abandon the heart of the home," noting that mothers can get discouraged, or feel unrecognized and unappreciated. She writes: "A mother who is fighting this interior battle may feel, or even state that she is 'just' a mother. I have heard this so often, and I will tell the mom that she is 'not just a mother!'"

This is the heart of Donna's message, and this is her mission: to help other moms realize that their work is a vital, vibrant, holy vocation.

I highly recommend Donna-Marie's books to newly married women and new mothers, and to moms of any age who seek encouragement and affirmation in their vocation.

And so, dear moms, if you have any doubts about the worth of your daily struggles, sacrifices and joys, dig into these books. When you've finished, you'll close them with a contented sigh, knowing that someone out there understands your worth and knows what you're going through ... that you are storing up treasures in heaven.

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Thanks so much, Karen! You can visit Karen's blog here.

I launched a new blog yesterday - "Moments of Inspiration from Your Favorite Saints"

A new blog was born yesterday, "Moments of Inspiration From Your Favorite Saints." Go on over and have a look.

Two lovely visits and now a little surprise!

The past two weekends I gave talks to two lovely gatherings of women. One gathering was a Communion Breakfast for the women of St. Lawrence parish and the other day was a Communion Breakfast for the women of St. James parish. Each bunch of women was as warm and beautiful as could be! I really enjoyed visiting with them and have a little message to them here:

I hope and pray that you are all keeping Jesus' fire of love burning in your heart and giving that burning love to all you meet. Here is a little surprise for each of you.

Just click here after turning up your speakers. Then close your eyes and enjoy! :)

God bless!