Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul

Saint Teresa (1515-1582) is widely considered one of the greatest mystics and woman reformers of the Renaissance. Author Cathleen Medwick (a former editor at Vanity Fair and Mirabella) clearly invested an enormous amount of research into this impressive biography of a brazen and complicated woman. Although she broke many of the social rules for nuns and even women of her day (for instance, she slept under the stars, traveled at whim, and spoke her mind freely), it was her ecstatic raptures that made her so controversial. "Sometimes she dropped to the floor and was frozen in position for hours, unable to speak," writes Medwick. "At other times she conversed with God directly, a dangerous practice, the Inquisition often having its ear to the door." Readers will find a fascinating character in this fully flawed and charismatic Spanish saint. More delightfully, readers will appreciate Medwick's strong narration and sense of story that sustains us through Teresa's trials and tribulations--and expertly leads us to her final rapture. --Gail Hudson