The Whole World Will Love Me [Paperback]

Dorothy Scallan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2005

This wonderful book links all the elements of her life into one intimate, flowing and absolutely enthralling story - relating details of her beautiful, holy mother; her noble and pious father; her great and generous sisters, all of whom entered the convent; plus her own story - from her infancy to her early entrance into Carmel at 15, to her death at age 24. Toward the end of her life, St. Therese came to an understanding of her own spiritual advancement, for she made several predictions that all came true: That her Story of a Soul should be published as soon as possible, that she would let fall a shower of roses on the whole world when she died, that she would assist anyone who called upon her for aid, and finally, that the whole world will love her. And it does! The Little Flower is probably the best known and loved Saint of all time. Also explains St. Therese's devotion to the Holy Face - and shows how it made her a Saint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. (December 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895558181
• ISBN-13: 978-0895558183
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #519,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE WHOLE WORLD WILL LOVE ME, February 16, 2006

By 

Special K "Kate" (CLEARWATER) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole World Will Love Me (Paperback)

For all those who love the Little Flower this is a must have. Written in the style of a novel rather than an autobiography her whole life is covered from beginning to end. Also I thought this presentation of her life is more down to earth than others I have read and it allowed me to feel more deeply her internal struggles with her faith.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars charming, April 22, 2006

By 

Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Whole World Will Love Me (Paperback)

Dorothy Scallan wrote this charming biography of St. Therese in the form of a novel and it begins years before the saint's birth. Zelie Martin, who was an amazing woman in her own right wanted to be nun but was turned down. Louis Martin wanted to be a priest in his youth but was also turned down. Although disappointed they later realized years later after meeting one another that their vocation was marriage all along. They married fairly late in life and Therese would be their ninth and last child. The breast cancer which would eventually take Zelie's life had already manifested itself before Therese was born.

Dorothy Scallan filled this book with little known details. Interestingly enough Zellie Martin had a great regard for Saint Bernadette and travelled to Lourdes shortly before her death. Later Therese upon entering Carmel was deeply influenced by a book called the Golden Arrow written by a saintly fellow Carmelite. Some books make it seem like St. Therese just sort of accidentally stumbled into sainthood or they make it seem like her path was easy. It wasn't. The Whole World Will Love shows that the sought out holiness and poured herself into her vocation.

This is a lovely biography and makes a nice companion to Story of a Soul.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Deeply flawed, lacks credibility, February 25, 2011

By 

C. Doyle - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Whole World Will Love Me (Paperback)

CONS
--the author and/or publishers are self-indulgent. The back cover calls this the best book on St. Therese ever written--its not a review, it's in the summary of the book. Also, the author inserts a very odd supplication to the Holy See in the first few pages--basically saying that she herself and the book is relatively imperfect while the Holy See is "infallible." Also, the About the Author is nauseatingly long. Much too long for any book, let alone a book about St. Therese or any person of such influence...the author is trivial in comparison, and yet here the author is made to look important.
--this is not a biography. It is much more so an individual's opinions about who Therese was, with long dialogues between characters cut-in between these opinions. To put it more simply, it is a historical novel cut with personal reflections...
--the author has an angle. She has a great devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. As a result she emphasizes (extremely) how devoted Therese was to the Holy Face, while neglecting her devotion to the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and to countless saints. She also paints Therese as being devoted to the Holy Face (and being devoted to Christ as a whole) for reasons which seem to be more so the author's and not the reasons of Therese herself. Those reasons being reparation to God for the "evil of communism." Now when I think of Therese I don't think of someone concerned with that particular complex historical issue, and yet the Little Flower is here depicted as such.
--the book is not very well written. I have tried to find information on the author on the web and it has been difficult. Based on the flow of this book I'm not sure how experienced she ever was in journalism/literature, etc.

PROS:
--there are many interesting elements of Therese's life put into this book.
--the historical novel type dialogue in this book is sometimes quite imaginative, at the same time it can be sweet and genuine.

In conclusion, there are many more suitable books that deal with St. Therese in a well-rounded, objective, and honest way. This book lacks credibility. I think if anyone were to read the works of Therese it would be difficult to reconcile her with the idea of her this author has put forward in this book. To find Therese, there are better places to look.