I am grateful to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Publishers for allowing me to read this beautiful book.

I have read numerous books about Mother Teresa, but none like this one. Jim Towey was searching for a path; a bit “lost at sea”, when a brief meeting with Mother Teresa showed him that she was to become the Captain of his boat, but Almighty God would undoubtedly be in charge of steering.
When what he thought would be a tour of the facility for the infirm found him at the bedside of a dying man, his life would forever change. There are no co-incidences - only "God-incidences" and this book says it all.
The book is primarily about her later years, but Jim really gives us so much of the background of her youth as well. It is a story of her selfless suffering, physical and emotionally, which she never complained about, her playful side, and at times, her struggles with God, showing us her most human side. I laughed at many points in the book, but one thing that was so funny was when she was asked if she carried any weapons, and her reply was "Yes, my prayer books"! So true!
It is truly a beautiful story of how she was able to be a witness to the author and guide him in how to turn his life around, with a ministry to serve others.
As I said, I have read many books on Mother Teresa - "To Love and Be Loved" is at the top of my list.

To Love and Be Loved is an intimate look into the life of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta as told by her personal advisor and friend Jim Towey. Mother Teresa’s life is so inspirational, and I was fascinated to learn more about her, her life and her Missionaries of Charity, and their selfless work for the impoverished. Mother Teresa is definitely one of the greatest saints of our time, and if we could all strive to be even just a little bit as compassionate as she was, this world would be a much better place. I can’t recommend this book enough; it is a must read.

Mother Teresa could not have picked a better person to write this biography of her life, particularly of her later years, than Jim Towey. Jim was on the staff of Mark Hatfield and a lawyer when he had a short meeting with Mother Teresa. That meeting led him to Calcutta where she had started the Missionaries of Charity and not only did he have a meeting with her and what he thought would be a tour of the facility but he was assigned some chores and put to work for hours.. His shock was later changed as he returned and found himself tending to those so less unfortunate than he and over time he became a trusted confidante of Sister Teresa and handled many attorney affairs for her and the Missionaries of Charity scattered throughout the world. The book is primarily about her later years, the time she had to make herself more available to worldly matters and deal with world leaders including the Pope and Presidents. It is a story of her suffering, physical and even spiritually. But it is such a beautiful story of how she was able to reach out to the author and show him how to turn his life around and how to serve others. A touching read and I am indebted to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Publishers for an ARC; this is my honest review.

I decided to read this particular offering about Mother Teresa because of who authored it. I had no idea who Jim Towey was before I read the book synopsis. He founded the non-profit organization "Aging with Dignity" and is the co-author of the document "Five Wishes", an advance directive. He worked in the US government for a Senator, and after his fateful visit to Calcutta to meet Mother Teresa, his life was changed forever. He had an extremely close relationship with Mother Teresa that lasted decades, and she had an enormous impact on his life.

Jim Towey's first visit to Calcutta was one of my favorite parts in the book because of the profound lessons he learned after this experience. He observed pathetic poor people laying around in the streets, some face down in the sweltering heat. There was incessant begging from both children and adults as he walked to his destination. Once he reached his hotel, despite the lack of air conditioning and the presence of roaches- he felt incredibly grateful after what he saw on the way there. When Jim first met Mother Teresa it was very brief, but she greeted him energetically and sent him to the hospice run by her fellow nuns. Once he introduced himself to Sister Luke at the hospice and said that Mother Teresa sent him, she smiled and immediately assigned him to "bed 46" with some gauze and medicinal lotion to treat a man's scabies ridden backside. As you can imagine he was startled, repulsed, and felt inadequate, but with some guidance performed the job...and then was tasked with washing and feeding some others! Mr. Towey was in dress clothing and not expecting to volunteer with hands-on care of these dying, suffering patients. In fact, he thought a monetary donation alone would fulfill his duty. When Jim left Calcutta, his next destination was a five-day stopover in Hawaii. However, instead of being relieved at the splendour of his cushy surroundings, he felt guilty after remembering the poor he had just left in Calcutta, and in fact missed being around them.

From this point forward Jim was deeply involved with Mother Teresa's charitable organizations, to such a degree that he seriously considered entering the priesthood. Mother Teresa ultimately talked him out of it and encouraged him to continue working in government where he could often help her. She also talked a young lady out of becoming a nun, and ultimately encouraged the two to marry and have children, which they did. Jim handled all legal issues pro bono for the organization, including when unauthorised entities tried to monetize Mother Teresa's likeness. One very publicized incidence of this was the "NunBun" where a Nashville coffee shop found that a baked cinnamon bun resembled Mother Teresa.

I was very moved by the selflessness of Mother Teresa, with her passionate message that a person's most important need was to love and be loved. She and the order she founded ran hospices, soup kitchens, adoption centers and woman shelters. They had hundreds of centers all over the world. Mother Teresa had a very close and loving relationship with Pope John Paul II, and he put her on a fast track to becoming a saint after she died. He also became a saint himself when he passed away several years later. She had a lot of health problems such as a bad back (she used to say her "old friend" was back when it would flare up), but kept a good sense of humor, embraced suffering, and had great inner strength. This is a very worthwhile and inspiring book to read about an amazing woman from Albania who sacrificed so much to help the poorest of the poor.

Thank you to the publisher Simon & Schuster for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

A wonderful story about the author's relationship with Mother Teresa and how she changed his life when he needed it most. I like how Mother Teresa show her love to those around her even if they were gone from her daily life. The book is a living history about a wonderful woman who tried to make others life better.
The book also talks about how Mother Teresa had her own struggles with knowing God and that she had this struggle all her life, but she still did the work that she thought was required of her no matter what it did to her physically.
I like that the story begins from the beginning of Mother Teresa life when she was very young and continues until the moment she took her last breath. I always wonder where she came from and what happen at the end. The story talks about all the sacrifices Mother Teresa made just to become a nun and how World War II and the war in India influence her, but didn't stop her from her work.

I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this advance copy of this beautiful book.