When Dorothy Day was 79, she said, "'I feel like an utter failure. The older I get the more I feel that faithfulness and perseverance are the greatest virtues — accepting the sense of failure we all must have in their work, in the work of others around us, since Christ was the world's greatest failure." These bold words sting the soul and challenge us to keep on keepin' on.

"Be generous — and lavish."

— Dorothy Day

Kate Hennessy is a writer and the youngest of Dorothy Day's nine grandchildren. She has written a rousing biography of this extraordinary relative who has been recognized as a Servant of God by the Catholic Church, the first step toward canonization.

After an early bohemian life which she described as "disorderly," Day explored sex, radical politics, and the artistic quest for a soulmate with whom she could share her dreams. But instead this dreamer floundered in love, had an abortion, and then a child out of wedlock.

"Take less so that others have more."

— Peter Maurin

Day converted to Catholicism in 1927 and found refuge in prayer, the sacraments, and doing works of mercy. Seeing herself as a practical mystic, she once admitted that a spiritual life takes at least three hours a day. In 1933 she and Peter Maurin launched the radical publication The Catholic Worker. This consuming project enabled Day to harvest her passion for social justice and participate in a community taking care of the poor, the hungry, and the homeless.

Although Pope Francis has called Dorothy Day "a great American," Hennessy does not depict her as a flawless individual. She often was a dictator as a mother and as the prophetic voice of her publication. The author notes: "Most people when faced with Dorothy's complex and often contradictory character can choose what is most important to them and ignore the rest."

"We were born to ask questions."

— Dorothy Day

This biography vividly conveys the vision and the adventure of this extraordinary woman who deserves to be called a saint.