TESTIMONIAL

Grabbed this after someone at a conference wouldn’t stop talking about it. That part where Sophia’s thirteen and prays for three hours straight hit different. Been preaching fifteen years and somewhere along the way my prayers became performances. This book reminded me what it felt like to just talk to God without trying to sound pastoral. The way Sophia describes her grandmother’s altar and morning prayers took me back to watching my own abuela light candles before sunrise.

Never thought I’d connect with a memoir about faith and family this much. Grew up in a Buddhist household but spirituality wasn’t really discussed openly. Sophia’s honesty about her three hour prayer caught me off guard. The vulnerability there reminded me of my own grandmother who would meditate for hours and I never understood why until I got older.

Work in pediatrics and see struggling mothers daily… Sophia’s experience being young and scared about motherhood while trying to appear confident helped me understand what some of my patients might be feeling but won’t say. The chapter about her making promises to God about raising her future children right before she even had them showed such faith and determination. Started keeping this book in my office.