Read previous chapters here. Chapter 10 Soledad had been taught to pray. Pilar attended Mass each week and made sure all of her children received their first communions in a special way. In time, it became time for Soledad and Maria to take the Lord’s sacrament, so Pilar talked to the nuns, those women Soledad... Continue Reading →
I had lunch with a new friend at a sushi place in Salt Lake City a few days ago. He had been a student of mine last semester, and now that school is out and I’m moving on to another university, and so is he, we decided to meet up and get to know each... Continue Reading →
From July of 2013 to August of 2015, I worked in a history library as an intern for a remarkable scholar who has become one of my dearest friends. Her name is Jenny, and she is fighting leukemia again. I don’t want to focus on her illness, however. I want to focus on her influence... Continue Reading →
I have learned a lot about faith in the last few years. Events in my religious community have caused me to examine my own beliefs and to study and ponder more on the issues that are important to me. I am learning to be, as Emma Goldman suggested, “broad and big” in trying to understand... Continue Reading →
I began reading Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women (2013) with the impression that I was going to learn about how Jesus was a feminist. After all, my own feminist leanings began because of how well the feminist theory I was studying as a master’s student seemed to line up... Continue Reading →
East of Eden (1952) by John Steinbeck may be one of the greatest books ever written, yet I didn’t appreciate it or recognize it as such the first time I read it several years ago. I recently reread it by listening to it in the car while driving to school, and I have a new... Continue Reading →
Although loss of faith is characteristic of the Modernist era, Ernest Hemingway does not shy away from using religious themes in his novels. One of the most striking examples is the use of Biblical references in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Hemingway uses Biblical imagery as a way of showing his characters’ religious devotion... Continue Reading →
I need to come right out and say that I’m biased about this book. I am friends with the author, and to see his work in print through a major publishing company, finally, is really like Christmas morning. I’m sure he feels that much more so than I do. The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir... Continue Reading →
I've been on a journey to find people like me. People who think like me, feel like me, and write like me. People who care like I do and for what I do. It is a new journey, it promises to be a long journey, and so far it has been a rewarding journey. Some... Continue Reading →
The Bookshelf of Emily J. 