Fishing Without Nets, Cutter Hodierne, director; John Hibey ’05, writer and producer (VICE, Think Media). After winning the Grand Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, this Somali pirates film was expanded into a 109-minute thriller. A fisherman desperate for money helps a group of pirates capture an oil tanker and take its crew hostage, but he soon must make a difficult decision about the fate of a hostage he has befriended. The expanded version won Hodierne a directing award at the 2014 Sundance festival.
The Thorny Grace of It: And Other Essays for Imperfect Catholics, Brian Doyle ’78 (Loyola Press). Through more than 50 essays, the author expresses the joy, spirit and sometimes hilarious aspects of the Catholic character. Within such chapters as “Jesus & Other Testy Saints” and “There Are Many Ways to Pray,” he offers a view of the believing community that goes beyond papal decrees to human expressions of faith. A frequent writer for this magazine, Doyle is also the author of A Shimmer of Something and Leaping: Revelations & Epiphanies.
House Hold: A Memoir of Place, Ann Peters ’88 (The University of Wisconsin Press). How do places make us who we are? How do we reconcile our desires to put down roots and to hit the road? Combining her love of buildings with her love of books, the author presents a meditation on place and property as she traces her journey through several homes. Booklist says, “Peters writes beautifully of the meaning of authenticity and the need to belong,” while Kirkus calls the book a “lyrical memoir.”
On Becoming a Teacher, Edmund M. Kearney ’83 (Sense Publishers). “Learning to teach,” the author says, “is a lifelong journey that is exhilarating and frustrating, demanding and rewarding, and certainly unending.” In brief essays, he covers such topics as earning respect, establishing rules, appreciating learning styles and understanding standardized tests. He also offers advice on staying current and welcoming feedback. Questions for discussion and reflection are included.
The Just Right Home: Buying, Renting, Moving — or Just Dreaming — Find Your Perfect Match!, Marianne Cusato ’97 with Daniel DiClerico (Workman Publishing). Cusato, the award-winning designer of Katrina Cottages, addresses all aspects of choosing a home, with a focus on the big three variables — function, cost and delight — and the five elements to look for when judging a property. Examples, anecdotes and cheat sheets round out the guide on where to live and what to live in using the money you have.
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Four Given, Richard Carey ’80, produced by Carey and Jeff Sandow. Lead vocalist Carey wrote the songs for this contemporary Christian rock CD, his fourth album. “I wrote the music to touch the world,” he says. The four songs on this 16-minute EP include “Walk Away,” “You Tempt Me” and “Maria You Weep.” For more information, see therichardcareyproject.com.
Giant: The Ballad of Al Sondej, William J. O’Connor ’74. Al Sondej’74 is remembered for standing outside the dining hall, collecting money for the hungry. In 1988, he died of injuries sustained when he entered a blazing house as a volunteer firefighter. This CD features songs performed by The Bill Porter Orchestra that celebrate Sondej and other inspirational members of the ND family, including Father Hesburgh, CSC, Lou Holtz and the grandchildren of Ara Parseghian.
Culture and the Death of God, Terry Eagleton (Yale University Press). The literary and cultural critic, a Notre Dame visiting professor of English, looks at the state of religion before and after 9/11. As he ranges from the Enlightenment to today, Eagleton considers such issues as the unique capacities of religion, how the “war on terror” might impact atheism, and the possibilities of culture and art as a path to salvation. “This book is less about God,” the author writes, “than about the crisis occasioned by his apparent disappearance.”
Among the Angels: Stories from Kindergarten, William L. Brown ’67 (AuthorHouse). When the author retired from the practice of law, he served as a volunteer from 2008 to 2011 for the kindergarten class taught by his wife, Karen. The vignettes here offer a peek at life in the California classroom of the students he calls angels, with episodes ranging from humorous to touching.
The Paradise of the Parrot: A Personal Journey to the Obscure Caribbean Commonwealth Island of Dominica, Will Palfrey. This travel book details the author’s April 2010 visit to his son, Dr. William Taylor Palfrey Jr. ’05, who was attending Ross University School of Medicine in the West Indies. With his son as a guide, the author explores and comments on various island sites, including a church, brewery, national park and beaches.
The Preferential Option for the Poor beyond Theology, edited by Daniel G. Groody ’86 and Gustavo Gutierrez (University of Notre Dame Press). Essayists here consider the question: How can one live a Christian life in a world of destitution? They look at the way the option for the poor can shape our social, economic, political, educational and environmental approaches to poverty. Fathers Groody and Gutierrez teach theology at Notre Dame.
The Human Face — A Revelation, Gerard Pottebaum ’56 (Human Foundations Institute, Inc., with Treehaus Communications). The photographer juxtaposes faces from around the world with quotes from such luminaries as Shakespeare, Mark Twain Maya Angelou and G.K. Chesterton as well as from the Bible and the Koran. “The people in these photographs . . . remind us,” says the author, “that each person’s life adds still another original part to an all-embracing love story.”
Gift of the Holy Spirit: What every Christian should know about the Holy Spirit, Paul S. Ragan ’84 (St. Luke’s Publications). How can people most fully avail themselves of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying graces? The author explores the person, power and mission of the Holy Spirit and shares insights from the Bible, the teachings of the Catholic Church and the writings of popes Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.
Giuliana’s Way, Albert M. Parillo ’56 (AuthorHouse). The novel traces the choices and experiences of Giuliana, an Italian girl who leaves war-torn Europe for the United States, where she hopes to become an architect. Her talent for cooking, however, eventually overrides that plan, and Giuliana instead begins to build a reputation as a culinary star.
The Future of Just War: New Critical Essays, edited by Caron E. Gentry and Amy E. Eckert ’92 (The University of Georgia Press). The emerging issues of the use of drones and the privatization of force call for an updated look at Just War principles, argue the editors. Here they present 10 essays that “use emerging or evolving issues to explore the demands, limitations, and promise of the Just War tradition.”
A Beautiful Dream: The Steve Pavela Story, Gayda Hollnagel (Pavela Publising). A biography chronicling the 90-year life story of Steve Pavela ’48, who attended Notre Dame on both basketball and baseball scholarships. In 2004, Notre Dame awarded Pavela the Harvey G. Foster Distinguished Alumni Award for his civic activities. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” he worked as executive director of the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.
Resilience of a Dream Catcher: A Spiritual Memoir, Paschal Baute ’57 (Smashwords). At Notre Dame, “Bernie,” as he was known, was a welterweight Bengal Bouts champion and ranking Cadet Colonel of Air Force ROTC. Over a 24-year period, he served in all four branches of the U.S. military, eventually becoming a Navy chaplain. Now a pastoral psychologist, the author discusses how he learned resilience in the face of setbacks and loss. A discussion guide for developing coping skills, intended for both personal reflection and general discussion, follows each chapter.
Catholic Dad: (Mostly) Funny Stories of Faith, Family, and Fatherhood to Encourage and Inspire, Jake Frost ’93 (Amazon Digital Services). These 52 stories, one for each week of the year, present a look at the amusing, puzzling, and sometimes illuminating experience of fatherhood and family life. The author draws on Scripture, the saints and the Catholic tradition as he offers an armchair account of the joyous adventure of being a dad.
Hamburgers and Hot Rods, Eric Johnson ’77Ph.D. (Tate Publishing). Roger Strong stars in this mystery novel as a professor who builds hot rods as a hobby and can explain the finer points of preparing a car for showing. When a fellow car enthusiast dies in a crash, Strong offers to assist the local sheriff in investigating the tragedy, but soon finds he may also need to work on protecting his own life.
Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I, Michael E. Shay ’67 (University of Missouri Press). More than three dozen volunteer chaplains accompanied the U.S. 26th “Yankee” Division’s August 1917 deployment in France. With the help of archival resources and firsthand materials, the author brings to life the stories of these World War I clergymen, who experienced all the horrors of war. Shay is also the author of A Civilian in Lawton’s 1899 Philippine Campaign: The Letters of Robert D. Carter.
Country Heaven, Ava Miles (CreateSpace). Jennifer Anne Stewart ’99, writing under a pen name, is the bestselling author of Nora Roberts Land. Her latest contemporary romance is set in the world of country music. When superstar Rye Crenshaw offers Tory Simmons a job as his private chef for his multicity concert tour, she accepts, despite her misgivings about his bad-boy reputation. The author weaves personal and family recipes into this tale of personal change and love’s chances.
Postcards from Poland, Joseph Kuhn Carey ’79 (Chicago Poetry Press). In 2011, the author and his family visited the Polish cities of Krakow and Zakopane. The sights and sounds prompted him to compose these 41 “postcard poems,” which celebrate “Poland’s gorgeous, luminescent mind, heart, story and song.” The collection was named a Journal of Modern Poetry book award selection.
Sunday Dinners: Food, Family, and Faith from Our Favorite Pastors Diane Cowen (Andrews McMeel Publishing). Each chapter of this cookbook focuses on a different pastor and their Sunday dinner traditions, including some of their favorite recipes. One of the featured pastors is Father Martin Lam Nguyen, CSC, an art professor at Notre Dame, who tells the story of his family’s escape from Vietnam. On campus, Nguyen also serves as a mentor and spiritual adviser to ND students of Vietnamese ancestry.
Kentucky Marine: Major General Logan Feland the Making of the Modern USMC, David J. Bettez ’74 (University Press of Kentucky). Feland, whose career spanned the Spanish-American War, World War I and the Nicaraguan Revolution, was one of the first instructors in the Marine’s Advanced Base Force, the forerunner of the corps’ amphibious assault force mission. This biography explores his role in the expansion of the USMC during the early 20th century.