What Would Monica Do? has been a winner with both readers and judges. It won 1st at the 2023 CATHOLIC MEDIA ASSOCIATION BOOK AWARDS in 2 categories: Parish Life and Family Life. It also took 1st and 2nd place with the National Federation of Women Press awards respectively at the state and national levels.
Patti Maguire Armstrong and Roxane Beauclair Salonen have shared their own journey while calling upon the example of St. Monica to give hope and healing for those who bear the cross of loved ones away from the faith. They also draw on Scripture, saints, experts, conversion stories, and ongoing stories from other parents.
What Would Monica Do? tackles questions about faithfulness and trust during times of trial and offers ways to go deeper in our own faith. Armstrong and Salonen accompany their readers into a friendship with St. Monica, drawing comfort from faith and community so that no one need feel alone.
As a mother who watched her son, the future St. Augustine, run from God for over 17 years, St. Monica provides a loving example of how sorrow and worry can be replaced with the peace of Christ. “We have discovered,” the authors write, “that in clinging to his power and glory, we can make powerful leaps in our own faith journey and that this, more than anything, will benefit our children.”
“Readers will come away with renewed hope in the reality that God’s plan is still actively unfolding for their children—whether they can see it or not—and a deeper awareness that the Mass and Sacraments, prayer and fasting, and loving and listening without judgment, are powerful weapons in the fight for the souls of those they love.” –Liz Kelly, award-winning author of over 10 books.
Since the Ascension Press release, readers have shared that the book has brought them comfort, encouragement, and greater clarity and there have also been reports of answers to prayers and conversions.
