Steve Ray, Author of Crossing the Tiber
"No one can study the life of this incredible woman be unaffected. This is a powerful book."

Book Description
"The greatest saint of modern times," said Pope Pius X in 1914, speaking of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared Thérèse a Doctor of the Church, citing the timeliness of her doctrine and the wisdom and practicality with which she grasped the Gospel message. Why all this acclaim for Thérèse, who was only a little middle-class girl from France at the end of the 19th century? Why is Thérèse so universally loved, invoked and imitated? Fr. Bro, a key figure in publishing the definitive editions of Thérèse's writings, sets forth those aspects of her life, personality, and writing that do indeed mark Thérèse of Lisieux as one of the truly great exponents of Catholic doctrine. What she offers in her life and in her writing, he claims, is "one of the most certain and simplest evangelical shortcuts ever proposed". What we find in her words is a "struggle between darkness and faith, humor and sadness, realism and pretense, maturity and childhood..." A unique aspect of this book is the way that Fr. Bro both clarifies her teachings and message, and refutes critics who misunderstood the spiritual and intellectual depth of this Doctor of the Church. According to Bro, Thérèse does not flinch before the important questions everyone must face: Why death? How can we continue in hope when suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us? How can we remain faithful—and joyful—when we are shaken by the circumstances of our life? And first of all, how are we to love? Thérèse answered these questions both by her life and through her writing. Fr. Bro explores these answers with the same freshness and boldness that characterize Thérèse herself. Illustrated with photos.

About the Author
Fr. Bernard Bro, O.P., Dominican, doctor of philosophy, and a professor at the Pontifical Faculties of Saulchoir, is also responsible for the religious broadcasts at France-Culture. He is one of the world's foremost authorities on the life and writings of St. Thérèse.