- New eBook additions
- Try something different
- Most popular
- New YA additions
- See all ebooks collections
- New audiobook additions
- Try something different
- Most popular
- New YA additions
- See all audiobooks collections
October 1, 2016
Chronicling the life of physician-turned-priest Brigid Fitzgerald, Patterson (The Christmas Wedding, 2011, etc.) and Paetro hurry through a tale where angels fear to tread.After medical school, Fitzgerald joined Kind Hands, a Doctors without Borders work-alike, and traveled to South Sudan. In this early, compelling part of the book, Brigid confronts primitive living quarters, tries to help orphaned and maimed children, and practices "meatball surgery" in unsterile, chaotic circumstances. The deft descriptions of the almost unbelievable conditions under which the medics work are cringe-inducing. More so is the ugly violence inflicted on combatants, refugees, and courageous charity workers. Brigid falls in love with a fellow doctor. Hes killed, sending the narrative into a whirlwind. Brigid is soon in Berlin, where she eventually marries an older man, a playwright. They have a daughter. Berlin happiness ends soon in tragedy, spurring a return home to Boston. There, Brigid meets James Aubrey, a Catholic priest falsely charged with sexual abuse whos been made a scapegoat by the church. James establishes his own small church outside Boston: Jesus Mary Joseph Catholic Church. Brigid and James marry. Brigid too becomes a priest, all foreshadowed from South Sudan to Massachusetts by holy visions and mystical experiences. And then more tragedy, allowing Brigid another opportunity to give voice to the clich Why, God, why? Brigids quest transpires against a vaguely described current-day background in which our worldly afflictionsclimate change, political violence, social upheavalare worse by multiples. Straining credulity, however, is the incompletely developed premise that the JMJ Catholiclite movement becomes a worldwide phenomenon in a handful of years, so much so that Brigid is received amiably by a much-like-Francis pope. A high-concept pitch, a potboiler on the page, and a protagonist to cheer for, but the authors do not quite tie it all together.
COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
April 15, 2016
It's pretty miraculous that the new pope is a woman, Brigid Fitzgerald, who left behind a rough childhood to become a doctor in war-torn Sudan. Keeping her alive with all the enemies she has made should be pretty miraculous, too.
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Availability can change throughout the month based on the library's budget. You can still place a hold on the title, and your hold will be automatically filled as soon as the title is available again.
The OverDrive Read format of this ebook has professional narration that plays while you read in your browser. Learn more here.
Your session has expired. Please sign in again so you can continue to borrow titles and access your Loans, Wish list, and Holds pages.
If you're still having trouble, follow these steps to sign in.
Add a library card to your account to borrow titles, place holds, and add titles to your wish list.
Have a card? Add it now to start borrowing from the collection.
The library card you previously added can't be used to complete this action. Please add your card again, or add a different card. If you receive an error message, please contact your library for help.