It’s been said by many people that I respect that you should never read a book that you’re not enjoying. There’s something particularly unpleasant about reading feeling like a chore. You trudge through a book, unhappy and unsatisfied. In times when I want to quit, I persist. I continue reading partly out of optimism that things will get better and partly out of a desire to have not wasted my time.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. It’s a relevant topic and I thought that it might help me with some strategies for more effectively transmitting the faith has been so important in my life on to my children. I bought it two years ago and I’m surprised that it ended up so low on my queue. Sadly, the book missed the mark for me and, worse, I didn’t quit when I should have.

My main problem with the book is the audience. My reading of the title gave me the impression that this book was for middle-of-the-road practicing Catholics looking to do a better job of raising their kids in the faith. Not for people who were nominally Catholic and not for those who are deeply religious.

As I read, it became clear to me that perhaps not even the author knew his audience. I found the entire book to be boring and repetitious. Little was offered in the way of ideas or specific strategies that I could implement, right now. Instead, at the end of each chapter, there was a “Live” section, but it mostly referred to other resources. The book was too aloof.

I’m sure that there’s an audience out there who could benefit from this book. It saddens me that I concluded that this is a one-star book. To me, the author missed a huge opportunity. We do need to do a better job of handing on the faith, and we need very specific action plans to get us started. The book failed to deliver on the promise of its title.

Rating: ★

ISBN: 9781594716058