This is the very first time that I am unveiling the book cover of my memoir, The Kiss of Jesus: How Mother Teresa and the Saints Helped Me to Discover the Beauty of the Cross.

The publisher, Ignatius Press has just announced it on their website. You can sign up there to learn more about the book.

The time is getting closer. My memoir, The Kiss of Jesus: How Mother Teresa and the Saints Helped Me to Discover the Beauty of the Cross will be released in August.

Here is the very first sneak peek at the dust jacket description:

When Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle was growing up, she had no thought of one day becoming a popular author and television host. She was immersed in her life as the seventh of eight children in a Catholic family. Sometimes that life was carefree and fun, spending time with relatives dancing the festive Polkas at family weddings, and enjoying picnics in her back yard dappled with fruit trees and flower gardens. Other times, life for her was very dark and tarnished with struggles and pain. Struggles that she felt were perhaps best left a secret.

Donna-Marie retreated to the beauty of nature, thanking God for its splendors, pondering and meditating. She plunged her heart and soul into a deeper meaning of life as she tried to navigate the ups and downs in a large struggling family. She turned to God for help especially as she became increasingly misunderstood by her family and her peers.

Life took some bizarre turns, and Donna-Marie was forced to deal with a crazed man who took away her freedom and held her hostage. Eventually escaping the nightmare of her prison, she married and began raising her family, believing she had finally found her true vocation. But she couldn’t seem to get out from under the shadow of the Cross. She lost three babies to miscarriage, struggled with her husband’s serious drinking problem and was later abandoned by him just before she gave birth to her third living child.

Raising her family alone, she was subjected to abusive neighbors and appalling living conditions, struggling to overcome these challenges as she held onto hope for better days.

Her knight in shining armor finally came on the scene. Or so she thought. Another unexpected adventure ensued, thrusting Donna-Marie into a more affluent yet controlled life. “Prince Charming” had charmed his way into her life, but under the veneer of his charm was a dark side.

Survival mode took over as Donna-Marie had to fight for her life and for her children’s safety. Providentially, a saint or two crossed paths with Donna-Marie and impacted her life greatly. One was Blessed Mother Teresa who would become her close friend and spiritual mother.

The Kiss of Jesus is a powerful, moving true story of a well-known Catholic author who faced great suffering, abuse and rejection, but through faith, hope and love she found redemption and the beauty of the Cross.

 

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