Shirt of Flame

“Refreshingly and brutally honest, the author describes a spiritual path full of poverty, loneliness, and suffering as she struggles to come to terms with her divorce, the death of loved ones, and unrequited love. She reminds the reader that ‘the scandal of Christ is that to have a relationship with him means to share in his suffering,’ and that to live a life of radical social consciousness in the 21st century is often an alienating endeavor. King offers a genuinely moving account of her quest to follow Therese's little way, become a ‘victim of love’ and, indeed, to redefine what love means in the modern world. Recommended for anyone who is experiencing a ‘dark night of the soul’ or interested in contemporary spirituality.” —Publishers Weekly

“If you are struggling with faith, with brokenness in your life, with an obsession, with an addiction, with a gnawing sense that your life is not what it should be, with the sense of being the outsider, an orphan at all the banquets of life, and, most of all, with the sense you don't love Jesus and he doesn't love you either, that you are nothing, then let this book find you. It's a book for those who think they might be too sick to be helped by a doctor.” —Ronald Rolheiser

“This book brings out the grit of sanctity, how it is a continuous, no-holds barred full-on contact engagement with reality. The episodes from St. Therese’s life and Ms. King’s reflections concerning her own path show how both the French Carmelite and her L.A.-based follower simplify their lives, not as an escape, but precisely in order to face without distraction the gargantuan challenge and adventure of love, surrender, living out, to the last drop their embrace of the Savior of the world.” —Fr. Vincent T. Nagle, Holy Family Parish, Ramallah, West Bank, The Palestinian Territories

“A moving book written with so much humility, confidence, and love. The true meaning of the Little Way shines through Heather King’s grace-filled witness. The author’s original prayers are some of the most beautiful I have ever read.” —Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP, editor-in-chief, Magnificat

“What do Heather King and St. Thérèse de Lisieux have in common? Their lives of faith have been propelled by a revolutionary refusal to reduce their desire for happiness. Read this book and you will want to join them in their defense of the desires that make us human.” —Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, theologian, physicist, and author of God at the Ritz