The Sun & Moon Over Assisi: A Personal Encounter with Francis & Clare

The unlikely pilgrim in this highly recommended story is Gerard Thomas Straub, a former television producer who worked on popular soap operas such as "General Hospital" and "The Doctors." Raised as a Catholic, Straub fell into a bout of atheism after a disillusioning stint working for one of television's leading Christian evangelists. Nonetheless, Straub was blessed (or is it cursed?) with a seeker's soul and a novelist's imagination. He couldn't stay away from the quest for spiritual understanding. The upshot is a story within a story: the story of two saints from Assisi, Francis and Clare, as well as the story of how a disillusioned man finds himself in the Umbrian hills of Italy, completely entranced by these two legendary Italians.

If you enter this book as you would a meditation, you'll be fine. If you're looking for a light, straightforward narrative, move on. One must be willing to stop fidgeting and let go of expectations of how a memoir or a biography of a saint should read. Instead, this is a wandering and unfolding book that reveals deeper layers with every turn of page. Not only does it unveil the stories of Francis and Clare, it also reveals the classic human quest, where we face our most vulnerable spiritual questions and fears. Billed as an introduction to Franciscan scholarship, this is really more beautiful and ambitious. Consider it a primer on the art of Christian pilgrimage. --Gail Hudson