Aunt Edith:The Jewish Heritage of a Catholic Saint, by Susanne Batzdorff, niece of Edith Stein

Many members of Edith's immediate family were hurt by the biographical inaccuracies of certain biographies published over the years. This one is the most strikingly personal story of her life in print.

Come Be My Light, Mother Teresa

This really is an amazing book - highly recommended reading...

Mrs. Seton, by Joseph Dirvin

A truly in-depth look at an amazing woman. Her honeymoon was short-lived-- her father-in-law died around the time she became a mother...and she inherited William Seton's six minor siblings. When William died of tuberculosis, her youngest child was only 2! Mrs. Seton was one tough matron!

Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust, by Yaffa Eliach

(Re-reading this book again during Lent is a reminder of the truly devastating effect of the enormous sins of the Nazis, but also to be reminded of the extraordinary faith of the Jewish people in the face of such evil. Watch for an historical sketch from this book this summer.)

The Feminine Mistake,by Leslie Bennetts

(get it? Remember Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, published in 1963...well, Bennetts thinks that women should just figure out a way to keep working during those labor-intensive mothering years...after all, SHE did. I sez, well, Leslie, you're you, and I'm me.)

Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms who Want to Return to Work, by Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin

Um, in a word: condescending. Unless you already have a Harvard MBA and Jimmy Choos in the closet, skip this one. They interviewed "other" women, but they don't resemble any of the moms I know.