I Don't Want to be a Hoo-er: Essays on Faith, Family and Foolishness

by Elizabeth Scalia

Essayist Elizabeth Scalia writes of scripture: “You either believe all that stuff you say you believe, and you act accordingly, or it's all a lot of hooey and you're the hoo-er.” Scalia declines to be a hoo-er, but in this compilation of columns culled from various publications carrying her by-line, she gives ample evidence of her sometimes humorous, often harrowing failings and her determination to move forward. Two highly personal and previously unpublished essays round out this diverse collection which delves into issues of faith, politics, art, social divisions, and baseball. A highly diverting read.

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2013

About the author

Elizabeth Scalia is a Benedictine Oblate, an award-winning writer. and a regularly-featured columnist at First Things and at The Catholic Answer Magazine

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this little book and read it in one evening. It is a collection of Elizabeth Scalia's favorite blog posts and columns from over the years. As such, it is a good representation of her writing, including some of my favorite pieces including the one written shortly before her brother died. I appreciated the brief introduction that Scalia gives for each piece which helped provide context for inclusion, or in my case a reminder of when I had read many of these before.

I feel about this book the way I do about her blog The Anchoress: I love the inspirational pieces, I relate to the life experience pieces (except baseball - let's face it, I'm a football lover), and I care nothing about the political pieces. This book is a good mix of all those things and I'm glad I have it on my shelf.

It made me want to go back through my own blog posts and pull some of my favorites for rereading.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Scalia is a fine prose stylist, and a model for many of us on what it means to live one's Catholic faith--particularly for those of us who are writers, and for those of us to whom family life is important, and yet still rife with challenges.

This is an extraordinary book of essays; most of them are incisive yet lighthearted. Two of them were deeper, and extraordinarily thought-provoking. "A Tsunami Cannot Be Drawn in Pastels" discusses what it was like for her family to be with her brother during his terminal illness, and what it means to stay with a family member who is suffering and dying, supporting him through that level of pain: What is learned by the sufferer, and what is learned by those who are there to support him.

In "'That Must Be Disconcerting for You,'" Scalia discusses the pain she carries with her--and yet transcends--as the result of severe dysfunctionalities in her family-of-origin. Anyone who has endured cruelty from a close family member will relate to the mixed emotions she describes, and the necessity for processing all that emotion . . . and yet moving on, day after day.

With the exceptions of those two essays, these are little pieces one can read while waiting for an appointment; they give us Ms. Scalia's perspective on parenting, baseball, prayer, and the issues of the day in her usual clear and charming language.

[Jessica Bess · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Scalia's blog, I always look forward to reading her work in whatever form. I find Scalia to be a strong writer with thoughtful, practical insights on living a life of faith. Some essays were more memorable than others, but overall I found this book to be a strong example of what I enjoy most about Scalia's writing.