This book describes several types of suffering; one per chapter. Each chapter discusses how a particular saint dealt with this type of suffering. The discussion is then broadened with brief reference to the lives of other saints. Of great value are the five or six "lessons learned" at the end of each chapter. These short statements give valuable guidance, simply stated, in how to deal with each type of suffering. I strongly recommend it to any one who has asked "Why me, God?"

Dr. Chervin has done the Church and the world a great favor in writing this book! It has made such a difference in my life and I have sent it to numerous friends in time of trouble. She reminds us that the Saints are not people who are beyond us, but people who experienced the same kind of sufferings that we do. Dr. Chervin presents case after case of suffering and shows how our heroes in the Faith dealt with their troubles without becoming bitter or losing heart. This is no tome of flowery, empty piety, but a work that comes from the heart of one who has suffered and sought an answer. Thank you Dr. Chervin!!!

Few books can reach readers on a deep level. This book does a great job of it. The author shows how saints suffered from crosses of different kinds. She also offers advice on how to handle sufferings of all kinds. This is a very inspirational and moving book. I have researched extensively and have never come across as good as this one. It should become one of the great spiritual classics.

Holding Hands with God is a collection of miraculous healings from the sufferings of sexual abuse, a divorce, a miscarriage, a child's death, and a spouse's death. The stories of these women are victories of Grace from a Catholic perspective. These words are woman to woman sharings of how we found God in the midst of this pain.

This book is "must read" for Christian Counselors with Catholic clients. The integration of psychological principles with the understanding of the Catholic faith will make the sessions more effective. Although, many Christian counselors have the diagnostic tools needed to assist in the healing process, a more full understanding of Grace offered by a Catholic perspective of suffering (as not being masochistic but rather mysteriously embracing Christ's passion on Calvary)and the healing power of the Eucharist (which Catholics literally believe is the Body of Christ).

In my journey for healing, books like the Door of Hope by Jan Frank or the Wounded Heart by Dan Allendar were helpful. Yet my soul needed more. I am honored that Dr. Ronda Chervin would ask me to contribute my story to this great collection. I pray that you will find consolation in our work.

This book is full of inspiring quotes from Catholic saints throughout the ages. I found it useful for church bulletins and other publications.

The author makes the point that Spiritual Friendship is a gift from God. Being fallible human beings, spiritual friendship can sometimes be a taste of heaven, at other times it can be very painful.

A Treasury of Women Saints shows that women are hardly the doorway to Hell and the cause of man's downfall. In fact, some of them were the means by which their husbands and children became sanctified.

These women aren't too much different from you and me, except for one thing: they rose above their difficulties and united their consciousness with God-consciousness. The Treasury offers much in the way of just how each individual woman found divine union with God for herself. An inspiration and a divine example for women today to do the same.

As a convert, I am fascinated by Catholic culture and strive to incorporate into my life those "little things" that make Catholic life different from everybody else's life. This book is a real resource of ideas for religious practices that will make God part of all your life, not just one hour a week on Sundays.

It lists lots of ideas of what you and your family can do on the holidays, feast days and special occasions. The book also includes specific recipes for that hoilday, the book lists prayers that every Catholic should know such as the Hail Mary and Our Father. The book also talks about important saints in our Catholic history.

This is a very good book if you want new and/or fun ways to experience your Catholic faith.

It is astonishing that Ignatius, a usually reliable publisher, would publish a book like this. What can you say about a book that solemnly tells us, "Jesus was certainly a theist" (p. 60), or that "Plants live their kind of life automatically" (p. 111)? It is supposedly written for beginners, but the authors have no grasp of important philosophical concepts or of how to impart them. The writing is colossally bad; here's just one example: "...these classical Greek thinkers recognized that the really real reality is not the appearance of things that the senses know but the underlying ousia, or being or essence or nature or substance" (p. 46). They tend to reduce all of philosophy to metaphysics and seem to have little historical sense.

To add insult to injury, the documentation is slipshod. For instance, Britannica's set Great Books of the Western World is cited in at least four different ways (my favorite: "Great Books of the Western ! ! World Series"! (p. 389)); and the appendix on Aristotle (p. 394) is a travesty. Run, don't walk, to your local public library and pick up the first history of philosophy you find. It's bound to be better than this.

An excellent work for anyone who wants to learn Christian Philosophy as taught by the Catholic Church. It is a faithful and comprehensive synthesis of the teaching of the Magisterium and would serve well as a text for courses in Christian Philosophy.

Deacon Richard C. Caporiccio, MA - Theology, Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, and Advanced Chatechical Diploma, The Holy See

An excellent work for anyone who wants to learn Christian Philosophy as taught by the Catholic Church. It is a faithful and comprehensive synthesis of the teaching of the Magisterium and would serve well as a text for courses in Christian Philosophy.

Richard C. Caporiccio, MA - Theology, Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, and Advanced Chatechical Diploma, The Holy See