Dorothy Day the World Will Be Savined by My Beauty Book Review
Dorothy Day: The Earth Will Be Saved By Beauty- Kate Hennessy
Synopsis
The life and work of Dorothy Twenty-four hour period—the iconic, celebrated, and controversial Catholic whom Pope Francis called a "cracking American"—told with illuminating detail by her granddaughter.
Dorothy Mean solar day (1897-1980) was a prominent Cosmic, writer, social activist, and co-founder of a movement dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Her life has been revealed through her ain writings as well as the piece of work of historians, theologians, and academics. What has been missing until at present is a more personal business relationship from the indicate of view of someone who knew her well. Dorothy Day: The World Volition Exist Saved by Beauty is a frank and cogitating, heartfelt and humorous portrayal as written by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy.
Dorothy Solar day: The World Will Be Saved past Dazzler challenges ideas of plaster saints and of saintly women. Twenty-four hours is an unusual candidate for sainthood. Before her conversion, she lived what she called a "disorderly life," during which she had an abortion and and then gave nascency to a kid out of matrimony. Later her conversion, she was both an obedient servant and a rigorous challenger of the Church. She was a prolific writer whose books are however in impress and widely read. While tenderly rendered, this account will show her as driven to practise good only dogmatic, loving only judgmental, in item with regards to her simply girl, Tamar. She was as well total of sense of humor and laughter, and could light upward whatever room she entered.
An undisputed radical heroine, chosen "a saint for the occupy era" by The New Yorker, Solar day'due south story unfolds confronting a backdrop of New York Metropolis from the 1910s to the 1980s and world events spanning from World State of war I to Vietnam. This thoroughly researched and intimate biography provides a valuable and nuanced portrait of an undersung and provocative American woman.
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My Review - 3 Stars
I'1000 not sure the first time I heard about Dorothy Day but I'd guess it was in ane of my college sociology classes. Her work with the poor was unprecedented when information technology first began and the Catholic Worker continues to impact united states of america today.
However, I was hazy on the particular details of 24-hour interval's work and life. When I saw her granddaughter had written this biography, I was curious about what I'd detect. This is nigh Dorothy, yep, but it is also a portrait of her daughter Tamar'south life, likewise as Kate. I'thou still not sure what to make of all I encountered.
Although her granddaughter writes this account, information technology is a adequately unflinching one. Kate does not shy away from depicting Dorothy'due south bottom qualities and mistakes. Nor does she shy abroad from showing the means Dorothy's parenting choices negatively impacted Tamar and thus Tamar's children. In fact, in that location were more a few points where I felt great relief to non be related to Dorothy Solar day.
"Dorothy wanted to throw herself into the fray. She believed that not but could she change the world but information technology was her obligation to do then." p. 53
To be clear, Dorothy Day did a great deal of good. She advocated for civil rights decades before many other white people did. She interacted with and related to the poor in a fashion few others did. I can understand why those who benefitted from the Cosmic Worker's efforts would want her declared a saint. She was tireless in her advancement and her Cosmic faith informed it all. But this highlights the discrepancy between her professional and personal worlds, a discrepancy those who are children of many pastors, leaders, and public servants volition unfortunately relate to. This is one of the well-nigh interesting aspects of this volume.
The book was slow-going at times only it came alive for me in Chapter 16 when Kate takes a more active part in the narrative in her teenage years. She is also more than active in the Catholic Worker, as well as trying to become her female parent to become more than forthcoming nearly the painful periods in her by.
"Perhaps the difference between Dorothy and Tamar over the question of faith was that for Tamar life was truer without the Church, while for Dorothy life was truer with it." p. 244
I was also fascinated by the ways Dorothy'south Cosmic conversion did not translate to the rest of her family. Tamar eventually left the Cosmic church and very few of Dorothy'south grandchildren are involved. What meant and then much to her did not have the same effect on others, although this could be due to her stridency in the matter.
24-hour interval's legacy is withal stiff some 35+ years later. At that place are nevertheless plenty of Cosmic Worker homes in the US and around the earth. I may take conflicted feelings about the woman herself just I'm glad to know more than about her piece of work and family.
Disclosure: I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in commutation for an honest review. Affiliate links contained in this post.
Source: https://www.leighkramer.com/blog/2017/01/dorothy-day-the-world-will-be-saved-by-beauty-review.html
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