An intensely human tour of the great spiritual battles in the US Catholic church during the late 20th century. Brian Gail takes us out into the "trenches" and shows what life was like for Catholics good and bad during this critical time. This book is a great opportunity for Catholics to take hold of who they really are.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
In the Catholic novel Fatherless, author Brian J. Gail takes dead aim at the pervasive denials and chronic weaknesses that afflict men of every age, but especially men of the post-Pill generation. I think the greatest contribution of Mr. Gail's book is the honest presentation of real-life scenarios of how much damage the Pill has caused men and their relationships with women. No one thinks that the Pill is a man's issue, but Gail shatters that denial with his insightful rendering of the accounts of woe that follow in the train of the poison Pill. All men, not just Christians, need to read this and weep (in repentance) and then get up and make a difference in the world by taking on themselves once again the role of the virtuous man, father and warrior. --Fr. Tom Euteneuer, President, Human Life International
Fatherless is an exciting, compelling and profound fictional account, but much more importantly, it's also an accurate and profound snapshot of the problems in the Church today, in the midst of a society steeped in contraception and abortion, and a cultural disregard for the sanctity of marriage and family life. This book is a must-read for all Catholics yearning for the end of the culture of death. --Judy Brown, President of American Life League
A gripping and deeply moving read that is, at the same time, a hauntingly beautiful exploration of man, God, morality, faith and the Church in our contemporary world. Masterfully done... --Roy Shoeman, Author, Salvation is from the Jews --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Fatherless is an exciting, compelling and profound fictional account, but much more importantly, it's also an accurate and profound snapshot of the problems in the Church today, in the midst of a society steeped in contraception and abortion, and a cultural disregard for the sanctity of marriage and family life. This book is a must-read for all Catholics yearning for the end of the culture of death. --Judy Brown, President of American Life League
A gripping and deeply moving read that is, at the same time, a hauntingly beautiful exploration of man, God, morality, faith and the Church in our contemporary world. Masterfully done... --Roy Shoeman, Author, Salvation is from the Jews --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
About the Author
Brian J. Gail is a former college and semi pro athlete, Madison Avenue Adman and Fortune 500 senior executive, entrepreneur and CEO. He is currently an educator, author and speaker. He has served on numerous civic boards in his hometown of Philadelphia, including the National Adoption Center, the William Booth Society, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and the Regina Academies. He is husband of one, father of seven, and grandfather of four. He and his wife of 40 years, Joan M. Gail, live in Villanova, Pa.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Sleep Robber,
This review is from: Fatherless (Paperback)
I could write a few thousand words about why I like this book. I lost sleep because I couldn't put it down. Here's my recommendation: Christmas is coming soon so if you are leading a ministry team at your parish that doesn't seem to have enough zeal, get them this book. If you know priests who are burned-out, get them this book. If you have family members who seem to be questioning, get them this book. If your kids are aged 15-35, get them this book. If you know anyone who is thinking about leaving the Church, get them this book. If you want to change someone's opinion about the Catholic Church, get them this book. Finally, if you just want an exciting read that captures the state of the Catholic Church in the US over the last two generations, get this book!
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Fatherless" Will NOT Leave You Orphaned!,
This review is from: Fatherless (Paperback)
Before I'd even started reading this book, I thumbed through the back pages at Mr. Gail's fabulous bibliography. I was delighted to see a number of works and/or authors with which I am very familiar:
* Archbishop Chaput's "Render unto Caesar" * Dr. Chris Kahlenborn's "Breast Cancer : Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill" * Bogomir Kuhar, Pharm.D. - executive director of Pharmacists for Life * William E. May, Ph.D. * Leslie Woodcock Tentler's "Catholics and Contraception: An American History" * George Weigel's "Witness to Hope" * Christopher West (He has written and spoken extensively about Pope John Paul II's "The Theology of the Body." An updated translation of the late Holy Father's teaching has been released as "Man and Woman He Created Them.") "Fatherless" is the tale of three Catholic families from a suburban Philadelphia parish, who turn to Father John Sweeney for spiritual guidance. While they do not use this terminology, they are each struggling with how to live out their "universal call to holiness." Though the novel's set in the first decade of the magnificent pontificate of John Paul the Great, Father Sweeney is initially unable to respond to his parishioners with the wisdom of spiritual treasures, such as Veritatis Splendor or Christifideles Laici. He tries to offer a "Catholicism Lite," when what is needed is the Truth which will set them free! We assume that he has failed to challenge himself and his congregation with such "hard sayings," as the evils of * contraception, * divorce/remarriage (without annullment), * exploitation of workers, * failing to bring the Truth into the political sphere, * failing to treat nutrition/hydration as ordinary care, * IVF, * missing Sunday Mass, * misuse of our sexuality (outside or inside marriage), and * receiving Holy Communion outside the state of grace. I would like to offer a teenie, tiny, minor criticism about a Church history, which is offered by "Father McManus" toward the latter part of this masterpiece. I think that this section would have been better served by using Thomas Woods, Ph.D.'s "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" as its primary reference (Though it is a difficult work, Eamon Duffy's "The Stripping Of The Altars" raises enormous questions about our assumptions about pre-Reformation Catholicism.). Without question, this was one of the best books which I have EVER read!!! MARCH 14, 2010 ADDENDUM I just came across Adrian Ng's thought provoking review of 2/16/10, from which I quote: * "First, the good news. This book presents the Pro-life message in a very readable way. Now, the bad news. It tries to cover the topic of exorcism but on that, it is an absolute disaster. Although there was an external insertion in my copy to clarify that the Catholic Church does not teach us to offer ourselves to receive demonic spirits from another person...." (If I understand correctly, Mr. Ng acknowledges that there was indeed an effort to provide a clarification/corrective.) Father Thomas Euteneuer is the president of Human Life International. Mr. Ng's review has reminded me of my desire to read Father Euteneuer's "Exorcism and the Church Militant" (which does not yet appear to be available through Amazon). I will take Mr. Ng's words to heart. Be that said, to simply say that this "book presents the Pro-life message in a very readable way" does NOT do it justice. I wish to reiterate that the author masterfully tackles certain subject matter: "* contraception, * divorce/remarriage (without annullment), * exploitation of workers, * failing to bring the Truth into the political sphere, * failing to treat nutrition/hydration as ordinary care, * IVF, * missing Sunday Mass, * misuse of our sexuality (outside or inside marriage), and * receiving Holy Communion outside the state of grace."
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WARNING: May cause sleep deprivation!,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Fatherless (Paperback)
FATHERLESS is one of the best Catholic novels I have read in a long time. It focuses on the spiritual journey and personal purgation of Fr. John Sweeney--from being a "good" but mediocre priest to becoming the priest that God wants him to be. Along the way, Brian Gail interweaves the stories of several families in Fr. John's parish and--by doing so--captures what has happened to the Catholic Church in America since the 1960's and Vatican II.If that sounds boring, I assure you, it ISN'T. Mr. Gail has a talent for bringing home the crises in American families through the description of their very personal battles...together with their failures and successes. The episodes that took place were so captivating that I found myself turning the pages quickly to find out what happened next--often well past my normal bedtime--thereby causing severe bouts of sleep deprivation. FATHERLESS was not only thoroughly researched, it was a well-told tale that held my interest from the first page to its satisfying conclusion. Brian J. Gail is a very talented writer and an excellent story-teller. I hope to see more from his gifted pen.
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