BOOKED FOR A STAYCATION

A recent commercial highlighted the coined word, ‘staycation.’ The concept of ‘staycation’ refers to a leisure break time spent locally, usually at home or nearby. As an avid reader I am advocating those unable to get away for a summer vacation this year, for whatever reason, to avail themselves of frequent relaxing breaks centred on leisure reading. As author Jhumpa Lahiri beautifully put it:

“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”

May I take the liberty to recommend the Electra McDonnell book series by author Ashley Weaver. Her series offers the reader a historical mystery collection set during World War II. As of July 2025, the series comprises five books:  

A Peculiar Combination (2021),

The Key to Deceit (2022),

Playing It Safe (2023),

Locked in Pursuit (2024),

and One Final Turn (2025).

The cleverly chosen titles subtly hint at Ellie’s life transition, as a former safecracker-turned-spy, as she navigates her complex new world of espionage. The books’ chapters combine elements of suspense, romance, and historical detail.

If you find yourself liking Ashley Weaver’s storytelling style and looking for more books by her, you might also enjoy the author’s other historical whodunit series, the Amory Ames Mystery Series. The protagonist in the series of seven is Amory Ames, a stylist, self- possessed, young woman living in 1930s England. Amory is an independently wealthy amateur sleuth who frequently finds herself entangled in murder investigation.

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

— Mason Cooley

I hope my blog is a reminder that a well-told story can transport you far beyond your front door. Happy reading and safe travels, wherever your pages may lead you.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ 

Image: Victor Ballesteros/Kari Shea | Unsplash

Moral Ambition: A Book Review

Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman (2025)

I was surprised—and grateful—when the public library notified me that Moral Ambition was ready for pickup. I had no memory of placing it on hold, but I’m very glad I did. Rutger Bregman’s book is compelling, thought-provoking, and one I highly recommend.

Drawing inspiration from the quote, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall” (Allen Raine, 1836–1908), Bregman explores what it means to use one’s talent in service of the greater good.

This isn’t just a book about inspiring individuals—it’s a call to action. Bregman introduces readers to people who are directing their considerable skills and energy toward solving the world’s toughest challenges. Along the way, he challenges us to do the same. Chapter titles alone give a taste of the book’s tone and urgency:

• No, You’re Not Fine Just the Way You Are

• Lower Your Threshold for Taking Action

• See Winning as Your Moral Duty

• Find Out What the World Needs and Make It Happen

• Expand Your Moral Circle

• Make Future Historians Proud

Bregman doesn’t merely celebrate moral ambition—he insists it’s within reach for each of us. As he writes, “If you choose to go the moral ambition route, the ripple effect can be enormous. Your behaviour is contagious, so a better world does indeed begin with you. Moral ambition isn’t a trait; it’s a mindset.”

This book will challenge your assumptions, spark ideas, and leave you rethinking how you spend your time and talent. It’s an invitation to live more boldly—and more purposefully.

-Sister Nancy Sullivan, CSJ

Image: Martin Adams/Unsplash; Book: https://rutgerbregman.com/books/moral-ambition

A Moving Memoir

Adding My First Memoir to My Lending Library

I’ve just added my first memoir to my bookcase and what a heart-stirring introduction to the genre it turned out to be.

As my new colleague, ChatGPT, explains:
A memoir is a form of nonfiction where the author reflects on personal experiences and memories, typically focusing on specific events, themes, or periods in their life—rather than recounting their entire life story, as an autobiography does.

That definition came to life for me through The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse by Vinh Nguyen, released on April 8, 2025, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

Nguyen was one of the many Vietnamese “boat people”, refugees who fled the country by sea after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Alongside his mother and siblings, he escaped in a crowded boat, part of the mass exodus of those seeking safety and freedom across dangerous waters. His father fled separately and then vanished without a trace. The memoir traces not only Vinh’s harrowing escape but also the emotional terrain of absence, longing, and inherited memory.

The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse contains all the key features of a memoir: it’s written from Vinh’s perspective, it focuses on his memories and reflections, and it shows, often through dialogue, how personal experiences shape an individual, through offering lessons and insights.

Nguyen himself describes the memoir in this way: “It begins with memory and it moves forward. As it moves forward, it hits the limits of memory. And so increasingly, the book becomes speculative. I moved towards thinking about what could have been—what did I want to have happened?”

I discovered The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse through the Amnesty Book Club, which featured it in celebration of World Refugee Day on June 20th.

Amnesty also hosted an online interview with Vinh Nguyen offering listeners a thoughtful, vulnerable conversation that adds even more depth to the memoir’s reading experience. With Amnesty’s permission, I’m sharing the link to the recorded interview with Vinh Nguyen here.

If you’ve ever wondered how personal memory and historical events intersect on the page, this memoir is a beautiful, poignant place to start.

P.S. For those interested here is the link to join the Amnesty Bookclub.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

image: Nathan Dumlao/unsplash

Leisure Reads

“The thing about books,’ she said, ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.”
― Evie Woods, The Lost Bookshop

For many of us, one of the pleasures of summertime is that it affords us more time for leisure reading. Just in case you are on the lookout for a new book or author, may I introduce you to Evie Woods. Evie Woods is the pen name of Evie Gaughan born in 1976 in Galway, Ireland. Though, perhaps we can claim some Canadian closeness  to her since before her writing career she studied business and marketing and lived in Canada in her twenties.

Evie Woods is an author who truly understands the transformative magic of storytelling. However, not wanting to be a spoiler, but wanting to entice you to go in search of “The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods, I quote Goodreads:

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems.

Copies of “The Lost Bookshop” can be found in your local library. I found a used copy on Amazon which I have shared with several others who have found it a good read. Evie Woods' other notable works include The Story Collector, and The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris.

Happy Reading!

-Sister Nancy Wales, csj

A Book Review

Book:“While I Breathe, I Hope: A Mystagogy of Dying” by Richard R. Gaillardetz

One of the joys I have in my ministry is travelling to other religious communities to facilitate retreats. A special “perk” is that members of the communities with whom I am working will often recommend to me books they have read.

Recently, a group of Sisters suggested I might appreciate a book, (they kindly gave me a copy) entitled, “While I Breathe, I Hope: A Mystagogy of Dying” by Richard Gaillardetz, late Chair of Systematic Theology at Boston College.  From its title I didn’t think it looked too promising. It certainly didn’t sound like a book to invite curling up in a comfy chair to read .. And let’s face it, how many have even heard the word, “mystagogy”? (It means a process to guide people in the mysteries of life in Christ).

I somewhat reluctantly opened the book one evening during the retreat. Contrary to my presuppositions I couldn’t put it down! It is one of the finest and most moving books I have ever read. It is truly a vivid guide in the mysteries of a life lived fully, with all its joys, ups and downs, doubts and faith, despairs and hopes, loves and losses, in Christ Paschal Mystery writ large.

Diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, Richard Gaillardetz, began sharing his experiences in a blog, posted on the support website, “CaringBridge”, from which the chapters of the book are derived. They are written sequentially during the last months of his life. Here, Gaillardetz seeks guidance from his Christian faith for the journey of dying. Each segment of the book ends with the Latin phrase, Dum spiro, spero, “while I breathe, I hope”.  In his personal journey at the end of life he finds challenges and consolation in his faith and he also discovers new meanings in faith practices and in the Church’s liturgical seasons and celebrations.

Image: Sandy Millar @sandym10/Unsplash

Beyond these ponderings, Gaillardetz reflects on his natural human struggles, his fears and doubts, joys and suffering, family relationships, on the nature of love and friendship and on the importance of accompaniment on the journey. He speaks, in most eloquent ways, of the gifts of grace in moments of darkness. At the same time, he interweaves humour, analogies from sports, images from art, inspirations from music and “down to earth” commentary on the radiance and gifts of life’s ordinariness.

This is a read for all and, perhaps, most especially, for those facing imminent death, for carers, family and friends and those grieving. Comfort is in each turn of the page. It is compelling, irresistible, utterly engaging and heart-rending. It is paradoxical in its exploration of both dying and the ultimate sureness that while I breathe, I hope and thereafter. Truly inspirational!

-Sister Mary Rowell, CSJ