I greatly enjoyed my prayerful reading of Blazing the Trail by Vinita Hampton Wright. In this lovely book/personal retreat, Ms. Wright offers a month-long series of reflections based upon four amazing—and holy—Catholic women of America namely: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Servant of God Dorothy Day, and Servant of God Thea Bowman. Over the course of each week, Ms. Wright offers daily reflections for both morning and evening of each day of the week, which provides an approachable retreat format for the laity who are looking to incorporate a personal retreat into their everyday lives.

The highlights of this book for me were the wonderful way that Ms. Wright interwove facts about the Saint/Servant of God into prayers and actual quotes from the women’s writings. I am a person who knows a great deal about these female Saints/Servants of God and even I learned a great deal from reading this book. I also really enjoyed the section which contained statements encouraged the reader/retreatant to “Look for Growth”.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to slow down and deepen their prayer life while at the same time learning more about some extraordinary women who were a part of our very own nation.

Many thanks to Vinita Hampton Wright, Ave Maria Press, and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are offered freely and are entirely my own.

Vinita Hampton Wright's book of devotionals features four prominent women who led the charge through their Catholic faith. The weekend gives you the background and introduces the theme of the week. Throughout the week, you are given daily morning and evening prayers along with questions to encourage you to think deeply. You will follow these women's journeys as they develop a strong faith in God through their Catholic faith. Through various themes and spreading the gospel throughout the world through conversion, missionary work, social activism, and the showing of love to others. I found these devotionals very inspiring due to the strength of these four women. This is an excellent resource for Catholic Women who want to strengthen their faith. Thank you, Ave Maria Press and NetGalley, for the opportunity to review this amazing devotional.

I love this 4 week retreat. It's perfect for personal reflection or a group study. I loved the focus on American women especially my girl Thea Bowman. Highly recommend this retreat.

I have never heard of these women so I knew I had to read it. This is four different woman who are saints. This is a four week boom and it talks about the women and it was very interesting.

What a wonderful gift Vinita Hampton Wright is to the world! Her deeply spiritual prose touches both the heart and the soul. In Blazing the Trail, Wright profiles individuals who paved the way to holiness for us all. I found the book to be incredibly helpful for me in deepening my relationship with God. This is the kind of book a reader can turn to again and again in order to draw strength and encouragement. If you are looking for a work that will help you bridge the gap to Jesus, this is it!