Grace: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Only Sociopaths Need Not Read 'Grace'
Review: I know it's not a usual literary effect, but when reading sweet Mary Jo's memoir, one can feel actual love being actually tugged from well within one's actual heart. She is blessed with an extraordinarily Affective manner of writing, and boy, does it feel good--this is prose that's a sight for sore eyes.
This unusual minister provokes not only joy, but feelings most tender and dear, especially with her (get this:) IRRESISTIBLE (I swear they are) sermons. Reading 'Grace' caused me to say about a Reverend something I've never said before: "I ache to hear Mary Cartledgehayes preach." And yes, as you've heard, she likes getting laid as much as you do.

Rating:
Summary: Uplifting and enjoyable!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Grace by Mary Cartledgehayes. It was recommended by Jill Connor Brown, the Sweet Potato Queen herself so I had to buy it. It is a true look at the life of a spiritual woman who is VERY human. Cartledgehayes shares her life story and I feel I know her as a friend. She deals with major changes in her life such as divorce, remarriage, step-parenting and seminary studies with dignity and grace. She never attempts to fit the image of what a minister "should" be but puts her own stamp on everything she touches. Read this if you are a spiritual person looking to connect with other people of faith or if you are on your own faith journey.

Rating:
Summary: Yes! This is what it's like!
Review: I was't sure I wanted to read one more spiritual journey book. But the first paragraph hooked me and I laughed and cried my way through "Grace." The stories of her childhood, with the Episcopal priest in a long black dress with a white lace overdress, who came once a month with the "smells and bells" that transformed the schoolroom into a holy space, were delightful. The isolated life on the island, which her parents tried to make as normal as possible, shaped Mary Jo in ways even she cannot articulate.

What I loved the most, though, was following this incredibly articulate, incredibly outrageous woman as she followed the call to ministry she did not want but couldn't avoid. I don't think she was sweet but she was tender, most of the time, when she could draw it up from that deep place inside where the holy is.

Especially the book moved me because I too went to seminary, a little older than she was, with only one divorce and no kids, finding a little more support for women--there were more women than men in my class. We were smarter, outtalked them in class and more or less ignored their sexism. The men were, for the most part, also in their twenties. The top ten students in my graduating class of about thirty were women. But the men in their twenties mostly found churches first (we find our own calls to a church, and can't be ordained until we find one, not appointed as Methodists are). That was a bummer, and some of us got mad. I learned a lot about current Methodist polity from her book, which was interesting too.

I loved how she fell in love with her parishoners, and ached when it hurt her. The picture of what life in the parish is like is so precisely true. Most people think it's just Sunday morning, but remember how upset they got when she and Fred were gone for two weeks? They subliminally thought she belonged to them 24/7. Mary Jo was right to stick with her church, even if it led her right out of the church. But why do churches do this to their pastors? This is a really heavy topic in all denominations right now, as pastor burnout is a huge issue. I'm not pastoring a church now either, due to disability, but as I watch my pastor and all she has to juggle, I don't know if I could go back to it.

But that's all beside the point. This is an honest, passionate,funny, wonderful, sexy book, full of human emotion most people in the pew, or outside the church, never expected to hear from a minister. My only issue with it is the implicit admission on the blurb on the back that indeed Fred died of his cancer. But she has already shown us how she would deal with that loss--with grace, and with music.

Rating:
Summary: Uplifting and enjoyable!
Review: I'm a fast, fast reader. Most books that are about a journey are maddening to me -- I'm impatient, too! I usually want the answer, the puzzle to be solved, or the next exciting thing to happen. Mary Cartledgehayes made me read slow so that I wouldn't miss a single part of her journey. The most important thing I heard from her: Be part of the human race and risk pain of love, or you're wasting oxygen. If you've ever struggled to know yourself (and who among the reflective has not?), or if you've struggled to know God and His leading (and who among the human has not?), this book is for you. Mary is real. And she's funny. I hope she comes to Indianapolis so I can ask her to dinner. Yep, I'd sure as hell go to her church, too.

Rating:
Summary: Yes! This is what it's like!
Review: If you like Anne Lamott and Kathleen Norris, you're going to love Grace: A Memoir. Mary Cartledgehayes has Anne Lamott's energy and Kathleen Norris's intellect, rolled together into one astonishingly beautiful book. You're going to love it.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Amazing Grace
Review: It was early August here in Northeastern Ohio when I was introduced to this book and author by a friend. I have read and re-read and re-read this book and shared it with others as well. I am an instructor at a Christian College here in Stark County, Ohio, and I found this book inspiring and challenging and extremely motivating. As a life so far is retraced, the power of God and the importance of love and joy and music are acknowledge, affirmed, and celebrated. Too often individuals, lacking confidence in their own dreams, enter into someone else's and a precious gift is lost or at least in Mary Jo's case deferred. I am so thankful that Mary Jo accepted God's will for her and entered into ministry and authorship. The power of a God
centered personhood can not be overestimated. I heartily recommend this book!

Rating:
Summary: A Truly Amazing Grace!
Review: It was early August here in northeastern Ohio when I was introduced to this book and this author by a friend. The Wooster Daily Record carried a feature article about the author who was returning to Ohio for a high school reunion and about her book,
Grace:A Memoir.
The joy I have experienced as I've read and re-read and re-read this work is wonderous! The life that is shared by this author is both inspiring and entertaining. I believe many people experience the fact of making life choices that center upon pursuing someone else's dream when lacking confidence in pursuing their own. I feel that Mary reminds me and other readers through laughter and tears that God will keep calling each person to be the person he or she was created to be. I am so glad that Mary answered God's call to ministry and to authorship of this memoir. I look forward to sharing this book with many in the days ahead in my teaching at Malone College in Canton, Ohio, at my church in Massillon, Ohio, and by e-mail, letters, conversations, and purchases of many copies to share with friends and family. Be prepared for many surprises as you enjoy this volume.

Rating:
Summary: A rare treat...
Review: The book is irresistible in its portrayal of a real human being who writes and lives "full throttle." Funny, sad, honest, and hopeful, it is revealing and educational in its portrayal of the challenges of becoming and being a minister while being a mere human-- a gifted human, at that. The author has a unique and compelling writing style and she dares to say what most of us would keep to ourselves. I will forever see pianos (and life) differently because of the way she weaves her piano imagery through her juicy real life stories like a graceful background melody that crescendos at critical moments. This woman's story is inspiring and her voice is strong and clear. I look forward to reading anything she publishes.

Rating:
Summary: An Inside Look by a Minister of Church Life
Review: This book gives us a glimpse about what it means to be a minister in a church. Too often people think it's a Sunday only job. This author shows that no matter how hard you try, you find yourself personally engaged with your congregation, and you suffer along with them--their losses, etc. This book to me seemed similar to Nora Gallagher's book on parish life which was published a couple of years ago. It's generally speaking an easy read, although wrenching at times, because of the struggles the author confronts. Yet I feel it's honest and well worth the time to read.