Customer Reviews

Meet Edith Stein : From Cloister to Concentration Camp: A Carmelite Nun Confronts the Nazis

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Cavnar outlines the context of the life of St. Edith Stein so that the reader may appreciate the martyr's life as she lived it. Yet the author does not cling to the technicalities so as to give a boring recitation of St. Edith's accomplishments and failures. Rather, Cavnar brings the deepest passions of St. Edith to life: her love of philosophy, her love of teaching, her love of helping others, and most importantly, her love of God. The narrative moves swiftly so that the reader is caught up in the excitements and disappointments in St. Edith's life from World War I, her academic work and her relationships with her family members. This book is an excellent inspirational biography that presents a very real woman who was very dedicated to God.

Author Cynthia Cavnar condenses the life of Edith Stein into the most readable book yet. Information is contained herein which was not mentioned in longer biographies. However, in the few pages in which Cavnar discusses Pope Pius XI and XII and their roles in the fight against Nazism, Cavnar misses the mark, downplaying Mit Brenneder Sorge (On the Church and the German Reich) by Pius XI and ignoring altogether Pius XII's Summi Pontificatus (On the Unity of Human Society) published in 1939. I would have to recommend "Edith Stein: St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross" by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda over Ms. Cavnar's title although the former book is a little less readable.

This is the best indroduction to Edith Stein. It is vividly written and moves quickly. The book underscores the strength of this contemporary woman who, facing great challenges, had to think through and stand firm in her beliefs. In Cavnar's book, the central drama of Edith Stein's life is her conversion to Catholicism. This book does what a well-written saint's biography should do--namely, challenge the reader to respond to God's call with greater intensity.

This book highlights the life of a woman who should be better known to all of us. Her story is one of courage and conviction, first in her struggle to define her faith and to situate spirituality within philosophy, and later in her struggle against Nazi persecution. The author skillfully interweaves biography, histoy, and spirituality, all the while painting a very human and intimate picture of this incredible woman.