Most of the Salt + Light staff are major bookworms, and it shows. Chats about the latest Catholic releases happen regularly on the SLHour radio show, and our network has its very own book show, Subject Matters.  So while Subject Matters is off the air for 2018 - as the team is busy working on our latest documentary, The Francis Impact (check out the trailer) - I want to share with our readers the newest books I'm enjoying in this weekly blog series.

Go Bravely: Becoming the Woman You Were Created To Be

by Emily Wilson Hussem

Emily Wilson Hussem is a popular Catholic speaker, YouTube vlogger, and worship leader much like Fr. Rob Galea, whose book was featured in last week’s blog.  Though I’ve outgrown her target audience, the bite-sized chapters in Wilson Hussem’s Go Bravely: Becoming the Woman You Were Created to Be (Ave Maria Press, 2018) touch on many of the facets of life that women deal with at all stages of life but which are especially difficult when coming of age. Issues like how to remain faithful in a secular culture, chastity, and self-esteem are presented throughout the book, which has a conversational, empathetic tone. Reading Go Bravely (the title comes from a Joan of Arc quote - “Go bravely: all will be well, have no fear”) feels a bit like sitting down with an older sister or girlfriend who is serious about growing in holiness and determined to face life’s challenging moments with grace and integrity.  It’s clear that Wilson Hussem has a heart for empowering young women and helping them to grasp how God’s personal and individual love is the key to navigating these crucial, transformative years. I could see this being an excellent graduation present for a granddaughter or niece on the way to her first year of college. I certainly wish I’d had a book like this to turn to at that age during difficult moments, when mentors for how to live out authentic femininity and faith often seemed scarce. Favourite Quote:  (from the prayer that concludes the book) “Jesus … I want to be your hands and feet.  I want to live out the unique and unrepeatable call you have designed for my life … Give me the grace to be a humble vessel of your love, to love quietly in the moments where quiet love is needed and to love loudly where loud love is needed.  I pray that my love may always be radical, that my love may always show the world that you are alive, living and breathing, your everlasting heartbeat inside of mine” (p. 136).