Sunday, August 7, 2011

Fatherless by Brian J. Gail

Review by Danielle Hoch

     “This is a hard saying. Who can accept it?” That’s what we find Michael Burns, Joe Delago, Maggie Kealey, and Father Sweaney asking themselves in the page-turning novel, Fatherless. Living in the modern world where the family is attacked by foes on every front, each must decide that answer to the same question. Can we accept the hard teachings of Christ?


     Michael Burns, a man who finds himself uncovering hidden truths about the contraceptive known to many only as The Pill, wonders just how far he is morally obligated “to fight the good fight”? Should he risk losing his job to let the women of the world know the dangers that the pill has inflicted upon their bodies including blood clots, infertility, and a fifty-percent increase in breast cancer risk? Take it a step further, should he risk losing his family?
    Joe Delago is a star who has everything going for him. Moving to New York so he can play in the “big league” presents new opportunities in the advertising business but new spiritual challenges as well. Will challenging the pornographic and violent programming lead to his end? 
    The girl that every boy wanted a date with in high school finds her family suddenly under attack. With a litany of children and constant health problems, she wonders if artificial contraceptives can help save her marriage. Things take a turn for the worse when her daughter, Moia, has a sudden personality change as the girl deals with the demons of her past. 
    Lastly, Father Sweaney loves the flock he shepherds. Will he compromise the truth that has been given to him by the Church so that they will love him back? Will he trust his parish with the truth?
    A riveting book that address the real issue of living out the Catholic faith in a growing anti-Catholic world. It forces us to ask ourselves if we will reject the hard sayings of Christ or respond with Peter, “Lord to who would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.”
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