Customer Reviews

The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail

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Mother Antonia is the essence of love, and yet she makes you laugh, makes you feel cherished, and makes you feel like a better person. She is so spunky and exudes life, and despite her small and short frame, she has stories that are so intense that it scares you, yet amazes you at how someone can love the unlovable so sincerely. This book captures her spirit and her overflowing love so well, and it also shows the other side of her, which is so courageous that she even stands up to some of Mexico's most notorious druglords. I wish that everyone could meet her, and that is why I am so excited that this book exists, so that everyone can have a chance to get to know what she is like. I read this book in a day because I could not put it down. There are so many on-the-edge-of-your-seat stories that it captures you. It made me think, laugh, cry, made me want to make more of my life, made me want to give, and helped me to love more. Mother Antonia is a gift and a blessing to everyone that meets her or reads her story.

Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan have written a rare and intimate book, one that traces the densely complex life of an american housewife from the glades of beverly hills to the cold and violent cells of a mexican prison; rare because journalists seldom plumb inner lives, and intimate because they lived with mother antonia in the prison where she works. this volume is rare as well because as much as it chronicles a life of consumate goodness, it does so within the harsh and often deadly atmosphere of mexican criminal life, the drug wars, vendettas, vengeance and betrayals. i read this book in one sitting; it cannot be put down.

First of all, I knew who Madre Antonia was because I live in Tijuana and almost everybody here knows her or has heard of her. So when I heard there was a book about her I got really excited and tried to get a hold of a copy.

This book is very inspirational. Mother Antonia is my friend's godmother and when M. Jordan talked to her about writing a book about her life, Mother Antonia went to talk to my friend's dad (who had been the prison director before)and asked him what he thought about the idea of having a book about her work, she thought it wasn't right to tell everybody "Oh look all the things I've done", she just didn't want to feel like she was bragging about her actions, but my friend's dad told her that she didn't need to see it that way, she could see it as an inspiration for others to follow her steps. And I think it is exactly what this book is.

Mother Antonia gave up alot of things and decided to move into "La Peny" how people from Tijuana refer to La Mesa Prison. And like she said it's not self-sacrifice because what she does she does it with love and she enjoys it. This American nun is very sweet, she is always smiling, when you talk to her she always smiles. She bring help and warmth to prisioners, poor people and just anyone who looks for her and finds her.

This book definetely makes us think about how selfish we can be, sometimes we just live in our world thinking we have it all and don't even think about help the ones the have nothing. I'm going to be honest and say that this book made me feel really selfish. In fact, I already chose some stuff I'm going to take to Madre Antonia, you can just give her things and she will find people that need it. I felt bad because I told her I was going to bring her some things about a year ago and I didn't (being 10 minutes away from her ~_~) so now I'm definetely going to do it.

There were a lot of sentences that caught my attention, but right now I'm going to share only one:
"Look up into the sky and see a billion planets, and you'll see what power is. It doesn't come from a wallet or a weapon" Madre Antonia p.179

I recommended this book so so so much. It's tough to put down. The authors did an excellent job. You'll see that it will make you think about ways to help others. It's an incredible story. I promise you'll find yourself smiling at the fact that people like Madre Antonia still exists on this world. ^_^

vgxoxo@hotmail.com

There was an interesting interview with the authors on NPR on the Diane Rehm show 7/21/2005

http://wamu.org/programs/dr/05/07/21.php

Mary Clarke - an Irish beauty who grew up in Beverly Hills with neighbors including William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Dinah Shore; married at age 19; divorced twice; successfully ran her father's company as a single mom of seven - now serves a "life sentence" in Tijuana's La Mesa prison. Clarke's journey from affluence to living in a prison cell "with rats, nasty smells, and nastier graffiti" is detailed in a captivating and inspiring book, "The Prison Angel," by authors Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan.

This is no ordinary story as Clarke's "life sentence" was a choice...a choice by her to leave a comfortable world and a family to live with and serve people nobody goes near, those suffering in prison - the poor unable to afford a good defense, those serving unjust sentences, those brutally beaten by guards and other inmates. Today, still a "beauty" at age 84, Clarke is known worldwide as Mother Antonia (La Madre Antonia), "The Prison Angel," a woman who has inspired millions over 33 years with her message of forgiveness and inclusion, and "her supernatural" goodness and love.

Mother Antonia felt she was at a crossroads in life while still in her forties. Her kids were just about out of the house and she was being drawn to works of charity. She inquired about becoming a nun but found that religious orders were only interested in young women. She felt that closing the door to older women who wanted to devote their lives to serving the Church just seemed wrong and later would change this.

Two priests influenced her direction. Monsignor Anthony (her name Antonia honors him) Brouwers who was devoted to missionary causes told her "Mary, your love for the poor is supernatural." And Fr. Henry Vetter, a priest from Pasadena, who did missionary work in Mexico, introduced her to La Mesa in 1965. She came to believe she was meant for La Mesa, and in 1977, drove to La Mesa, walked through the prison gate carrying a blanket, a pillow, a Spanish dictionary, and a Bible. She never left.

Jordan and Sullivan fill the book with stories of her befriending inmates, guards, wardens, police chiefs, DEA agents, Army generals, and even Benjamin Arellano Felix, one of Mexico's most notorious drug traffickers; of her cajoling doctors and surgeons to travel from San Diego to correct vision, fix teeth, and even perform plastic surgery: and of her establishing a "San Diego-Le Mesa caravan" to deliver truckloads of supplies (soap, shampoos, mattresses) for inmates, their families, and....the guards.

Those who have met Mother Antonia say "She gets under your skin and she changes you." And "she is the happiest person I have ever met." As for Mother Antonia, "I have been upset, angry, and sad, but never depressed or regretful, because I have a reason for being...I wouldn't trade my cell for anyplace in the world."

Mother Antonia learned early in life from her father and the Holocaust that no one should stand by silently in the face of suffering. Her remarkable example will serve as constant reminder and invitation to perfection, to holiness.

This is a terrific biography. When you think about all the hype given to political biographies, ghost-written and self-serving; it is a great pleasure to read about a genuine, saintly, and totally giving human being. Don't just read it to learn about Mother Antonia . . . read it to change your life for the better.

This is noe of those "change you life" books that don't come along that often. No sentimentality here, just a wonderfully inspiring story of a fesity woman with no patience for anything that gets in the way of loving the poor, including church rules, prison guards, and grinding poverty. A must read if you want to know what Christianity is REALLY about.

It is difficult to review this book without sounding trite. It truly is inspirational. Mother Antonia is remarkable in that she has chosen to live in a prison in Mexico, but that is just the beginning. When you read this book you encounter a woman that embodies goodness. You will never view forgiveness in the same way after experiencing her philosophy.

And you really do experience Mother Antonia. Sullivan and Jordan have done a remarkable job of not only telling her story, but allowing the reader to learn the story from Mother Antonia. I can't help but feel that I know the woman after reading this account of her life.

Highly recommended.

All I can say is this great book will lift up anyone's spirits.
And if you were ever thinking of helping out at a soup kitchen
or hospital, you may find yourself finally making the call !

Mother Antonia is that inspiring! God bless her!!

It is amazing and wonderful that such people as Mother Antonia exist. She lives and works in the prison in one of Mexico's most notorious jails, a place I would be afraid to even visit. Just to read about her life is frightening.

It is also encouraging as we come to understand that one person can make a difference, that her innate goodness is repaid many times over by the prisoners under her care.

The two authors of this book won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Mexico's criminal justice system. They are an ideal pair to look at this small facet of the Mexican system.

It's an incredible story. Mother Antonia's ability to live this way and to have been able to convince others to help are a sign that maybe, must maybe things aren't as bad as they seem.