A friend of mine recently gave me a beautiful book entitled,"My Sisters the Saints", by Colleen Carroll Campbell. Wow. Where was this book when I was graduating high school or in college?
Seriously, though. It was like this book was written just for me and every Catholic and/or Christian girl out there who craves to know God and His plan for her life, but has no idea where to begin. Or, she looks for God in all of the wrong places and tries to fill that void with ALL the wrong things! In today's hook-up culture and a society that tells women they'll only find total fulfillment in their career and not in motherhood or family life, I found this book to be a breath of fresh air.
Carroll Campbell's beautiful and relatable writing style captivated me from the very beginning. I felt like I was sitting down with a longtime girlfriend, tucked away in a coffee shop, and letting her spill the beans on a captivating and exciting relationship she was in. In this book, Carroll Campbell covers some pretty dark struggles she has gone through and yet, you can feel an excitement throughout the book; an excitement to share the wisdom she has learned and the incredible ways God has shown Himself to her; no matter how abandoned she felt at times. If you have (or know someone who has) struggled with infertility or a family member with a degenerative illness like Dementia or Alzheimers, Carroll Campbell offers some uplifting and encouraging insights to help you through.
Most important, Carroll Campbell introduces us to five women saints that made a huge impact on her life and provided tremendous spiritual and sisterly companionship during some of her most difficult trials. They are Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Faustina of Poland, Mary of Nazareth, and Blessed Mother Teresa.
Not only did each of these women relate to Carroll Campbell in a very profound way, but they also provide wonderful examples of what it really means to be an empowered woman-even in today's society. As a Catholic woman who wants to live out her faith- not just on a personal level but also out in today's society-hearing this countercultural message from a well-established author and careerwoman like Carroll Campbell meant a great deal to me.
In our society, women are told to "lean in" and throw aside many aspects of what makes us so beautifully feminine so we can be everything that men are. This book is a powerful reminder of how we should be celebrating the beauty, strength, and uniqueness of being a woman in everything we CAN do that men CAN'T do; especially when that comes to the very holy and sacred things we can do as women.
This book would make a wonderful Christmas gift to the women in your life who are struggling with their faith, going through difficulty, or the young woman who is heading off to college. I also highly recommend this book to Confirmation candidates!
