I Am His Mother

For today's Book Note, I'm thrilled to feature a guest article about Carlos Solorzano, author of I Am His Mother. Enjoy! LMH

For centuries religious denominations have argued the theological message of Jesus' teachings while historians have argued over what could be considered as historical fact from the biblical accounts of Jesus' life. Non-canonical texts are discovered every so many years, which only leads to more speculation as to who Jesus Christ really was. Such debates never seem to end. What if, however, we were able to speak to the woman who carried Him in her womb, gave birth to Him and raised Him prior to His public ministry? What if she were able to write down her maternal reflections of what it was like to see this most famous figure go from the child that lived in her own home to the teacher that continues to influence the lives of billions of people everywhere? What if she had in fact wrote this down in a personal memoir and this document was in fact discovered? Author Carlos Solorzano takes on such a journey with I Am His Mother, the memoir of Mary the Mother of Jesus based right out of the portions of the Gospel where Mary played a key role in the life of Jesus Christ.

Aside from using the Gospel stories as a source for the book Solorzano also took creative liberties by including fictitious accounts of Mary meeting three significant Gospel figures many years after Jesus departed who during His earthly ministry had a direct experience with Him. Imagine what would be said if Mary had a chance to speak with the sinful women who washed Jesus’ feet with her own tears, the rich young man who walked away from Jesus since he didn’t want to surrender his possessions and the man born blind who would eventually be rejected by his own family because he chose to follow Jesus. How did their lives turn out and what would make them seek out the mother of Jesus?

This book was inspired by Solórzano’s Hispanic Catholic upbringing as he had always known a life that had a great love and respect for the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and for La Virgen. Further, becoming a father gave him a greater appreciation for his own parents as he had a greater understanding of all of the sacrifices they made in order to give him the life he had, especially when it required parental suffering. That also made him think of all that Mary must have endured, especially during the Passion and Death of her Son.

Solorzano wrote the book mainly as an expression of something that was in his heart but as the text came out he thought a lot about his own mother and women in general. Sometimes mothers’ efforts go unrecognized and he wanted to offer something that women could read to let them know that someone out there recognized all that they do for their children. Further, knowing how many young women out question the idea of motherhood because of all that it requires he wanted to reassure them that all the trials and sufferings are indeed worth it, especially when you see your children exercise all of their potential.

Upon the release of the book Solorzano expected the story to be something that appealed mostly to Catholic women but that has not been the case. Women of all Christian denominations have loved the book as well as women who do not have a professed faith tradition since they were able to appreciate the connection between Mary and her Son. Some reactions to the text have been:

You nailed it! Even though you are a man you totally described all that a mother feels for her child.
I just felt like a spent time alone with of our Blessed Mother
I saw Mary in a way that I had never seen her before
Absolutely one of the most beautiful books I have ever read

So far Solorzano has received many thanks from those who claim to have found the perfect gift for mothers as well as mothers to be that expresses one’s love and gratitude for these special women. Further, men have appreciated an angle on Jesus’ life and parenting for that matter that is most unfamiliar to them.

The book is available from

Crimson Cloak Publishing http://www.crimsoncloakpublishing.com/i-am-his-mother.html
On Kindle and for Print at: http://www.amazon.com/Am-His-Mother-Carlos-Solorzano/dp/168160003X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427736446&sr=1-1&keywords=i+am+his+mother

CARLOS SOLORZANO has a BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach. He teaches theology at Salpointe Catholic High School and ethics atBrown Mackie College in Tucson, AZ. He is currently reworking his trilogy called The Angelic Conspiracy, which should be re-released real soon. He is originally from Carson, CA and now lives in Sahuarita, AZ with his wife and children.

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