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A review by lectorliber04
Looking for Mary: Or, the Blessed Mother and Me by Beverly Donofrio
4.0
I am a fan of Our Lady. In many ways I feel about the Virgin Mary as Ms Donofrio does. She is Mama Mary to me, the one that cuddles, encourages and admonishes me in the most sweet yet stern manner possible. Beverly Donofrio wrote without censoring herself which made me, at times, dislike her a lot and at others empathise with her struggles. She was a horrible mother and like most human beings she knew it but couldn't rectify it. A teenager mother, married to the father of her child and within two years had divorced him. For the longest time she put her needs ahead of her son, putting Jason through all sorts of hell and this is where Mama Mary comes in. Quietly, without forcing herself into Beverly's life Mary comes into Beverly's house on throw with the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, later there'll be pictures, statues, pictures all over Beverly's home. We first meet Beverly on her way to Medjugorje. She is going to report what's been happening there, however, there was more to that trip than she expected: she found herself falling in love with Mary.
What I really appreciated was the honesty. Her faith journey was (is) like my own. She still wants women to be priests, she finds the institutional Church to be male dominated leaving women to do the menial jobs and yet she goes to mass as often as possible, she prays her rosary often, she fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays and she finally forgave herself, her ex-husband and her son and as the book finished her relationship with Jason was on the mend. God and Mary 'hang out' with the weak, the selfish, the poor, not just for lack of money but lack of meaning in their lives. They love us, the good and bad, in spite of the bad, because of the bad. Beverly Donofrio, a regular, broken human being opened her heart and found inner peace. There's hope and Mary, Our Mother is there to show us the way.
What I really appreciated was the honesty. Her faith journey was (is) like my own. She still wants women to be priests, she finds the institutional Church to be male dominated leaving women to do the menial jobs and yet she goes to mass as often as possible, she prays her rosary often, she fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays and she finally forgave herself, her ex-husband and her son and as the book finished her relationship with Jason was on the mend. God and Mary 'hang out' with the weak, the selfish, the poor, not just for lack of money but lack of meaning in their lives. They love us, the good and bad, in spite of the bad, because of the bad. Beverly Donofrio, a regular, broken human being opened her heart and found inner peace. There's hope and Mary, Our Mother is there to show us the way.