In her sparse bio on this unusual hybrid book, Heather King describes herself as an ex-lawyer, sober alcoholic, contemplative, and Catholic convert who lives in the thick of Los Angeles, California. For one year, she takes on the challenge of walking with St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) who died at the age of 24 and was recently made a Doctor of the Church. One of this saint's major character qualities was the ability to make the best of loss, such as her mother's death, her father's descent into madness, and her own severe illnesses. King brings to the table the end of a 16-year marriage and a bout with cancer.
The author shares with this ardent woman a hypersensitivity which proves troublesome to both of them. Because of this commonality, King is able to ask St. Therese to pray for us. Here is one of her prayers:
"For those of us whose minds tend to run in obsessive ruts,
For those of us with the impulse to manage and control,
For those of us who can't stop taking our emotional temperature,
For those of us who tend to hoard money and love,
For those of us who think we know best, . . .
St. Therese, pray for us."
After seriously and attentively studying St. Therese's little way of serving others and devoting herself completely even when doing boring chores, King rises to the moment and does some random acts of kindness such as blessing strangers in traffic and praying for those at a loud party. In the end, the author learns from St. Therese's ardor for Jesus that "we have to make our vocation love."
