The Province of Joy

“Many people consider Flannery O’Connor the best short-story writer of the twentieth century...However when studying her work, Flannery’s faith is often ignored. She was a devout Catholic who loved the Sacraments, studied the Summa, and prayed each day. Her faith clearly grounded her stories, inspiring themes like redemption, the surprise of grace, and the horror of sin. While a small handful of books probe her spirituality, fewer if any explore her personal prayer life. This makes Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s book, The Province of Joy: Praying with Flannery O'Connor, a welcome contribution. A poet and English professor at Fordham University, O’Donnell has written a book which is less biography and more ‘prayer book.’ It’s structured like a ‘Book of Hours,’ with morning and evening prayers for seven different days. Each day carries a theme, such as ‘The Christian Comedy’, ‘Blindness and Vision’, and ‘Facing the Dragon.’ Each also has a Gospel meditation, prayers from the Divine Office, a passage excerpted from Flannery’s writings, and some closing reflections from O’Donnell herself...You’ll pray with Flannery, contemplate her words, and eventually emerge with ‘deeper and stranger visions’—visions that both comfort and provoke.” —Brandon Vogt, author of Why I Am Catholic (And You Should Be Too)