How you know me:
I am the Board President of the Women’s Care Center in Peoria. The Women’s Care Center is a community outreach that assists pregnant women, families and children in need and provide emotional and practical resource assistance. I’m married to Clyde Dennis; we have three daughters and we belong to St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Peoria Heights.
Why I love reading:
I love reading because it’s very relaxing. I can visualize the message of a book in my own personal way. I also love that I learn something every time I open a book.
What I’m reading now:
God Alone is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila by Claudia Mair Burney.
I love this book because it’s both entertaining and intimate. There’s something timeless about St. Teresa of Avila: her day-to-day practical journey, the reality of her sufferings, and the trials she experienced in her life. St. Teresa’s incredible divine teaching on prayer and worship I found refreshing and amazing. Author Claudia Mair Burney has such a sense of humor and charm to her writing that she makes it down to earth. This book would be good for anyone to read, whether Catholic, Christian or otherwise. It’s just a great read.
My favorite book:
I would have to say God Alone is Enough because of how it has affected me spiritually.
But another wonderful book I read recently is the memoir of Mary Higgins Clark, Kitchen Privileges. It is so inspiring to read about her strength of character.
I can identify with her fashion background since that was my field before the Lord touched me for other work. Mary Higgins Clark had perseverance in the male-dominated fashion industry in the 30s and 40s, and then later became a writer to support her family after she was widowed at a young age. She went through incredible suffering in her life, and her Catholic faith helped her to overcome many troubles. She writes with elegance and mystery, and I appreciate that.