Consider this a personal invitation for you to join us for what may be our best book club yet:

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On Saturday, Lisa kicked things off with her interview with Maria. She wrote:

I wish I had the guts of my good friend Maria Morera Johnson, the author of My Badass Book of Saints. You’ll learn in the early pages of this book why it has this formidable title. I think it fits perfectly!

My dear buddy Maria is a force to be reckoned with. It fits that she would bring to us such a fantastically-cultivated selection of spiritual heroines to inspire us to our own particular brand of “badassness” as we start yet another calendar year. Maria has contributed here at CatholicMom.com for several years, freely sharing her gifts and wisdom in both English and Spanish. I count her among my closest confidants and look to her regularly as a mentor.

Maria said this about the book:

The book weaves stories about extraordinary women and holy saints with personal experience in my life. I consider these women my friends — role models for living a holy life, but by no means a dull life. I found inspiration in these women, and hope readers find similar inspiration through its pages.

Don't miss the interview: it's a great opportunity to hear (or read!) two friends talking about saints and writing and more! And if you haven't already, grab a copy of the book and join us! (We have a special email list, too, so you won't miss any of the posts!)

Here's a look at the book:

9781594736324.jpg.232xIn this edgy, honest, and often audacious book of Catholic spirituality, blogger and popular podcaster Maria Morera Johnson explores the qualities of twenty-four holy women who lived lives of virtue in unexpected and often difficult circumstances.

In My Badass Book of Saints, Johnson shares her experience as a first-generation Cuban-American, educator of at-risk college students, and caregiver for a husband with Lou Gehrig's disease. Through humorous, empowering, and touching portraits of twenty-four spiritual mentors who inspired her, Johnson shows how their bravery, integrity, selflessness, perseverance, and hope helped her and can help others have courage to reach for a closer connection to God.

She presents remarkable holy women and saints--including the gun-toting Servant of God Sr. Blandina Segal who tried to turn the heart of Billy the Kid, and Nazi resister Irena Sendler who helped smuggle children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II--in a way that brings their vivid personalities to life and helps readers live out the challenges of their lives with virtue and conviction.

Maria Morera Johnson Maria Morera Johnson

This book club combines an awesome team of writers with a bold, beautiful, and perfect book, one that will stimulate more than just conversation. This is a book that will force you to your feet so that you can connect with God.

Order your copy of My Badass Book of Saints: Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live from Ave Maria Press.

How the book club will work:

We’ll post a reflection each week on Saturdays. We have a team of writers who will be reflecting on each chapter and posting discussion questions. We encourage you to read along with us and be part of the larger conversation here and on social media.

What you do to participate:

  1. Read along.
  2. Leave comments on each post with your thoughts and impressions or even take a stab at the discussion questions.
  3. Interact with other commenters.
  4. Share the posts and the discussion in your real-life networks and/or your social networks.

Our reading schedule:

(We’ll link to the posts on the book club page as they are posted. The links won’t work until that Saturday.)

  • 01/02/16 - Lisa Hendey interviewed Maria Johnson
  • 01/09/16 - Chapters 1 & 2 with Allison Gingras
  • 01/16/16 - Chapters 3 & 4 with Tommy Tighe
  • 01/23/16 - Chapters 5 & 6 with Sarah Damm
  • 01/30/16 - Chapters 7 & 8 with Sarah Reinhard
  • 02/06/16 - Chapters 9 & 10 with Pat Gohn
  • 02/13/16 - Chapters 11 & 12 with Lisa Hendey

Get a reminder in your inbox:

You’ll get an email with a link to the newest post in the CatholicMom.com Book Club. Sign up by filling out the form below with your name and email:


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Don't worry, we won’t share your email address.

Order your copy of My Badass Book of Saints: Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live from Ave Maria Press.

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